Rise of Namikaze Naruto
by Zukara
Summary: Naruto learns of his father the night he beats Mizuki. He has vowed to surpass all of the Hokage's and earn the title, Namikaze Naruto. New clothes, new attitude, new love. Naruto is on his way to become what he was born to be... A Namikaze.
1. The Training Begins

_**Well, I know I should be updating A New Yet Similar Path, which I will later this week, but I've had this sitting around in my head for a while, and I felt like I should get this going as well. It'll be a nice challenge to start writing two fanfic's as well as writing the story for a comic. **_

_**Anyways, hopefully this'll be a good fanfic in your eyes, but it is mostly for me…**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… :'( **_

_**Chapter 1: The Training Begins**_

Naruto sat on a building just a block away from the Hokage tower, thinking everything over.

'_So all I have to do, is get this scroll, get to the clearing in the forest, and learn a technique from it?'_ Naruto sighed as he got to his feet and stretched his back, feeling the joints pop.

'_Sounds kinda weird, but I guess it makes sense…'_ Naruto jumped from the building and serpentine through the streets, to make sure he wasn't spotted.

He looked at the large building he hoped to be in control of in the future as Hokage.

Sneaking in was a simple task for the blonde academy student. Even though he always wore the orange jumpsuit, he was one of the few people who could hide from five squads of ANBU. The only times he had been caught were when Iruka had hunted him down.

Naruto walked silently through the halls, heading for the Hokage's office. Occasionally, he would stop and hide from an ANBU guard patrolling the building, but otherwise the place was deserted.

Naruto found the door he was searching for and slowly opened it. Once there was enough room to slip into the room, he darted in and shut the door behind him.

Naruto looked around the room, recognizing the four pictures of the Hokages, past to present, hung on the wall. Next to them, was another door.

Naruto ran across the room and wrenched the door open. Inside were various scrolls and books. Naruto remembered the description of the target scroll and started searching.

'_There you are!'_ Naruto grinned as he picked up the large scroll and strapped it to his back.

He walked out of the room and into the hallway only to come face to face with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

'…_shit…'_

"What are you doing in here?" The aged Hokage asked.

"**Oiroke No Jutsu!**"

XXXX

Naruto looked on in anger at his former sensei Mizuki who was crawling to his feet. The one that had tricked him, the one that had broken the decree formed for Naruto's protection. He had shattered his whole world, revealing the knowledge of the Kyuubi's incarceration inside Naruto.

Then, the worst of it all. He had harmed Iruka-sensei.

"If you lay one hand on Iruka-sensei, than I'll kill you!" Naruto said.

"Little demon fox, this is what you get!" Mizuki screamed as he scrambled to his feet, preparing to attack the young blonde.

Naruto quickly formed the one seal required for the jutsu he had just learned.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

What was once one Naruto was now hundreds.

'_Solid copies! He learnt an a high classed jutsu in a few hours and managed to produce this many copies! Amazing'_ thought the wounded Iruka.

Mizuki seemed to be overwhelmed as he looked around him, knowing that all of them were real.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto and Iruka were in the Hokage's office, going over what had happened out in the forest.

"Naruto, I am truly sorry that I've kept this burden of yours a secret from you, but you must understand…"

Naruto interrupted him with a sad smile. "Its okay Oji-san. I just wish that at least a few people would understand what I really am. That I'm not the Kyuubi… I'm just some orphan that the Yondaime Hokage picked to give this curse to."

Sarutobi's heart seemed to break at this.

"Do you hate him, Naruto?"

The blonde boy looked up at the aged Hokage and thought for a moment.

"I understand that he had no choice, and I would have done the same if I was in his position" he replied.

Hiruzen looked at the blonde for a moment before speaking.

"But do you hate him for giving you this burden?"

Naruto closed his eyes, thinking hard, wondering how he should reply to this question.

"I don't think I do… I… I wish it had been someone else, but there probably wasn't any other option... No, I don't hate him…"

Iruka and Sarutobi looked at each other when he said the last part.

"But there is something bugging you Naruto, isn't there?"

Naruto clenched his fists, wondering what to say at this.

"I… I do hate someone though… and I've never even heard of them or met them."

The two others knew what he was about to say.

"If my parents had abandoned me for this reason, I would hate them" he said flatly.

"They didn't abandon you Naruto" said Hiruzen before he could catch himself.

Iruka and Naruto both turned to the Hokage, knowing he knew something.

"You knew them didn't you?" It was Iruka that asked, before Naruto could.

"Tell me, please…" begged Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto… But I can't…"

"Why not?!" Naruto yelled out as he stood up only to be shoved back into his chair by Iruka.

"Naruto, control yourself!" the academy teacher reprimanded.

They were all silent for a few minutes, each of them staring at each other.

Finally, after about five minutes, the Sandaime Hokage spoke.

"Iruka, could you leave the room for a moment?"

Iruka looked at the Hokage and nodded. He opened the door and glanced back at his blonde student whom he had given his Hitai-ate to just hours earlier.

"Naruto, I don't know if I should be the one to tell you about either of them, the responsibility lies with someone else."

Naruto glared for the first time at the aged Hokage.

"Who would that be?" he asked.

"That responsibility lies with your godfather."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"I… I have a godfather?" he asked in shock. Sarutobi nodded and suddenly, the blonde exploded.

"Let me guess, he left when he found out about the fox, am I right?!" he yelled.

Before the Hokage could answer, Naruto continued yelling.

"Then fuck him! I don't want to have anything to do with someone who's going to leave me to rot for something I had no control over! He can burn in hell for all I care!"

As the last words left his mouth, killer intent knocked Naruto back into his seat.

Many times, he had heard that Sarutobi Hiruzen was a force to be reckoned with, but he had never taken it seriously. He was just the kind old man, right?

Now he could see why he was the god of Shinobi. Why he was called the professor, and why he was their third Hokage.

"Naruto, he did not leave you because of your burden. He left you here because taking you with him would have been reckless and dangerous. He has a duty to this village and he has been performing it."

Naruto couldn't form any words at the moment, too scared of the village leader in front of him.

The Sandaime lowered the killer intent and looked upon the small orange jumpsuit wearing Genin.

"Can…can you at least tell me about my parents?"

Sarutobi sighed. '_It couldn't hurt to tell him a little bit…'_

"They were strong, especially your father. He was possibly one of the strongest Shinobi in the land. The amount of jutsu he knew was astounding, and his knowledge of the battlefield, was amazing. He had never really known his own parents, as they had died when he was younger, but he had the will of fire burning brightly within him. You seemed to have inherited his own fierce determination."

Naruto smiled at this, not a false smile, but a true one.

"Then there was your mother, who was one of the most beautiful Kunoichi I had ever had the graces of meeting. She was a bit of tomboy and loved pranks, as did your father. She was the troublemaker of the two however… When she found out about her pregnancy with you, I had never seen her so happy."

Naruto had tears in his eyes. '_So I was wanted… They didn't just toss me aside like some piece of garbage.'_

"Oji-san, could you tell me who my father was?" he asked.

The Hokage shook his head. "That responsibility lies with your godfa…"

Naruto interrupted him at this. "I want to find out from you… I've always looked at you as a grandfather, and you're the closest thing I have to a friend… Please?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had made many difficult decisions in his past. Not killing Orochimaru, retaking his position as Hokage when the fourth had died, keeping the knowledge of Kyuubi from Naruto, and much more. This however, was the toughest.

'_If I tell Naruto, I may have to make it public knowledge, and the villagers would be less than accepting… Then there's Danzo, who would want to make the boy into a weapon if he found out, although I suspect he already knows of Naruto's origins… Then there's Iwagakure… If they found out that Minato had a son, they may attempt to hunt him down. But we could protect him from that. If his lineage is revealed, he could move into the Namikaze estate, and we could reactivate all the protection seals. Jiraiya would probably come back to the village as well when he finds out that Naruto knows…'_

The debate raged on in the mind of the Hokage as Naruto sat on the edge of his seat with bated breath.

"His name… Was Namikaze Minato… Our Yondaime Hokage…"

Naruto's eyes widened at this.

"T…t…t…the fourth?!" he asked.

Hiruzen nodded as he rose to his feet.

"I didn't intend on you finding out for many years, if ever, but if the occasion ever arose, I thought that maybe you would like something of his…" he said as he approached the picture of the blonde Hokage.

He took the framed photograph down to reveal a paper seal on the wall behind it.

He placed his hand on top of it and let his chakra flow into the kanji written on the paper.

The spot glowed for a moment a released a plume of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Sarutobi Hiruzen held several scrolls.

"These, are notes on some of your father's jutsu, and a few of these are storage scrolls.

In them, are more scrolls containing different kinds of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu… He never was one to rely on Genjutsu."

Naruto was tearing up again when he noticed one more thing, draped over the Hokage's shoulder.

"What's that Oji-san?"

Hiruzen smiled at this. "This was the coat your father wore constantly. It was probably his favorite piece of clothing, especially after he became Hokage."

Sarutobi set down the scrolls on his desk and took the coat that was draped over his shoulder, and presented it to Naruto.

"I don't think it fits, but if you like, we can always get it resized and…"

"No" Naruto interrupted as he gazed at his fathers coat.

"I think I would rather not change this specific coat… Maybe I could just get one made for me, but I would rather not change anything on this one."

The Hokage smiled. "If you would like, you could also have access to the money he left you. It wasn't as much as the wealth of the Hyuga or the Uchiha, but he did have a fair amount of wealth that he left you when he died."

Naruto continued to stare at the coat in amazement.

"I regret… not living up to what my father probably expected of me…" Naruto said suddenly.

Sarutobi lifted an eyebrow at this.

"From here on out, I promise to train myself so that I can surpass not only the Hokages, but my father."

Sarutobi smiled at this. "Those scrolls will help you quite a bit I would assume."

Naruto nodded. "Can I tell anyone?" he asked suddenly.

'_I don't want to be known as the fatherless orphan any longer.'_

Naruto looked up at the Hokage to see a stern look on his face.

"Naruto, I'm not going to lie to you… Many people respected and even loved the Yondaime Hokage, and many see you as the reason for his death. If we were to tell them suddenly that you were his son all along, many wouldn't believe me, and they would disregard it."

"So I guess I'm not allowed to wear this jacket…"

Sarutobi smiled at Naruto.

"You may wear the jacket Naruto, not many people will remember it very well, and only those that were close to Minato would notice and I doubt very much that they would mind. For now, keep this knowledge to yourself, but later on, I will inform the village of your lineage. You just have to give me some time to prepare it and I will need at least a few months. Perhaps by the time the Chunin Exams start…"

Naruto nodded. "Can I at least tell Iruka-sensei? He's helped me so much, and I want him to know."

The Sandaime thought for a moment before answering. "Iruka is a trustworthy person, so I don't see why not…"

Naruto suddenly hugged the aged Hokage. "Thank you Oji-san… Thank you so much…"

The Sandaime nodded.

"I want to hear about my mother as well, but let's let Iruka back in and catch him up!" Naruto said as he ran to the door, not giving the Hokage a chance to say no.

XXXXXXX

Iruka had to sit down when the bombshell had been dropped.

Uzumaki Naruto, the Jinchuriki of the fearsome Kyuubi no Kitsune, was also the son of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Naruto.

"Does this mean that you'll be going by Namikaze Naruto instead of Uzumaki?" he asked Naruto.

Naruto looked at the Hokage for an answer to this.

"Not straight away… When I reveal the news to the rest of the village, than yes, but until then, you will continue on with your mother's name…"

"What was her name?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Uzumaki Kushina..." Sarutobi replied, raising a gasp out of Iruka.

"Kushina really is his mother?! I thought she just gave the boy her name because she thought he was cute!"

Sarutobi chuckled. "That was the only excuse she would use for that… I still don't understand why…"

"Is she alive?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi shook his head, causing Naruto to drop his.

"I'm sorry Naruto…" Iruka said, patting him on the shoulder.

"It's okay… At least I know now that I wasn't just abandoned."  
"Naruto, it's been a long day, so how about this… You go home and sleep and tomorrow, we'll catch up on the smaller details. Sound good?" the Sandaime asked.

Naruto nodded. "That's fine…"

XXXXXX

Iruka walked Naruto to the rundown section of the village where Naruto's apartment lay.

"I'll be accompanying you and the Hokage tomorrow" he said to the blonde.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei."

"It's no problem Naruto. You should probably get to bed though, it's been a long day and you've found out so much…"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, it has…" He could already feel the events of today taking its toll as he started up the stairs to his door.

"Bye Iruka-sensei!"

"Good-bye, Naruto."

When Naruto made it into his small apartment, he immediately walked up to his rundown mattress and fell on top of it, asleep.

XXXXXX

Naruto woke up to what appeared to be a tapping noise. Not feeling like opening his eyes, he merely groaned and turned over so that his face was in the pillow. That's when the events of the day before caught up to him.

'_I'm the Kyuubi container, and my father is the man that sealed it inside of me who also happens to be my hero…'_

He shot out of bed to see Iruka standing in his door way, tapping his foot on the ground.

"It's nearly noon Naruto…"

Naruto paled. "It is? Sooo, yesterday really did happen?"

Iruka simply nodded. Naruto sat back down on his bed.

"Wow… For a moment, I thought it was all a dream…"

"Well it wasn't, now come on; the Hokage is waiting downstairs for you."

Naruto nodded and was about to go get dressed when he realized he had fallen asleep in all of his clothes, including his sandals.

They got to the bottom to find the Hokage smiling at them.

"Naruto, I remembered you saying that you wished to surpass your father, so I figured that maybe Iruka and I could help you get started."

Naruto didn't move, still taking everything in.

"How will we do that?" he finally asked.

Iruka looked Naruto up and down.

"First off, we need to get you some new clothes. I know you like the color orange, but it's too bright. It makes you an easy target for enemies."

Naruto pouted.  
"Naruto, I know you like attention, but wearing an orange jumpsuit attracts negative attention, which isn't what you should be striving for" the Hokage lectured.

"Also, your kunai and shuriken are all dull and rusting, so we'll be getting you some more of those along with a few explosive tags." Iruka said as he recalled all the times Naruto used his equipment in class.

"Books on basic chakra control are required as well, and books on the history of Konohagakure."

"But that stuff is boring!" Naruto whined.

Iruka scowled at his one time student.

"Naruto! These things are necessary for a Ninja to know, especially for a ninja that wishes to become a Hokage!"

"I doubt that my father had to do this…" Naruto said, still pouting.

"Ah, but your wrong Naruto, he did have to do this stuff. It's required for a Hokage to know. Not only is the Hokage the ruler of the village, but he is a diplomat. He must know things that many do not."

Naruto said nothing, but both Iruka and Hiruzen knew that he would read the books now.

"Some books on proper etiquette would be a plus as well as grammar." Iruka commented as he recalled more of Naruto's behavior in the academy.

Naruto could only huff as the list went on and on.

XXXXXXXX

"Okay, I'm coming out now…" Naruto called out from the dressing rooms at the Shinobi clothing store.

Iruka and Sarutobi turned to see the blonde Genin walk out in his new outfit.

They both grinned at how Naruto looked.

He had black Shinobi sandals on instead of his blue ones. He had the finger less Shinobi gloves on, with the metal plates engraved with the leaf symbol. The Hitai-ate had the blue cloth removed and replaced with black.

His pants were black and ended at his ankle. There were only two pockets at the front. His kunai holster was new as well, being black in color and strapped to his right thigh.

He had an orange sash and a black long sleeved shirt. But what caught their eyes was the jacket he was wearing. They had recreated the jacket Naruto's father had taken to wearing for Naruto. Instead of it being white a red, it was red with black flames at the bottom.

"Not bad Naruto… not bad at all" Iruka said as he inspected Naruto.

"Why did you alter the colors for the jacket though?" Sarutobi asked.

"I'm not good enough to wear my father's jacket, so I figured a change would be best for now…"

The Hokage nodded, smiling to himself.

'_He wants to earn that right… He's a lot like his father…'_

"How do you feel Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Pretty good actually… I'm just glad you guys let me keep a bit of orange on."

Iruka and Sarutobi sighed. There was just no getting rid of that color.

"I have a question though… How am I going to pay for all of this?"  
Sarutobi just smiled at the boy.

"Think of this as a grandfather spoiling his grandson…"

'_I owe you a lot for what I kept from you… You seem so happy knowing the truth…'_

"But I don't think th…"

"Naruto, please just take my gift!" Sarutobi asked.

Naruto stared at the Hokage for a moment before speaking.

"I guess I can do that…"

"Thank you Naruto."

"No Oji-san… Thank you…"

They bought the outfit, along with copies, so that Naruto wouldn't have to constantly wash the same one over and over.

They also bought a few training outfits for Naruto to use when he would train alone.

They went on to a weapon store and bought new kunai and shuriken for the Genin which seemed to excite him.

It was only a quick stop there before the shop Naruto had been dreading, the bookstore.

They spent a lot of time there, hunting down the multitude of books that Naruto was going to have to start reading.

Chakra control exercises and theories, proper dieting, proper etiquette, food preparation, books about different plants and their usage, histories of the Shinobi world including a few books about Konohagakure alone.

Naruto saw a few scrolls that seemed to peak his interest on advanced chakra control exercises. Although he was told that he would learn them with his new instructor.

"So when do I meet this new instructor?" Naruto asked as they left the store and started walking to his house to drop of his stuff.

"Three weeks from Monday, you'll be assigned to a Genin squad and given a Jonin instructor to help guide you and take you on missions."

Naruto seemed torn for a moment.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Iruka asked when he noticed Naruto's conflicting thoughts.

"Well, what if this new guy just focuses on the others and leaves me in the dust… I mean, he would know about…" at this, Naruto looked down at his stomach.

"Naruto, if that does happen, I want you to report it to me straight away, is that understood?" The Hokage ordered.

Naruto nodded. "I don't want to cause any trouble though…"

"Naruto, the troubling thing is if they do discriminate against you and hinder your progress" said Iruka. "I know it happened in the academy before I became your teacher, and I tried to help you out, but the damage was done. If your Jonin instructor does that to you, than they shouldn't even be a Jonin."

Naruto nodded as he continued down the street.

"So I have three weeks to improve my skills before meeting my new team?"

"That's right Naruto! Plenty of time to catch up or even surpass most of the graduating class if last night says anything!" Sarutobi exclaimed happily.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Naruto, the Kage Bunshin technique is a Jonin level Ninjutsu. Not only that, but it's also a forbidden technique because it splits your chakra evenly. You managed to not only perfect the technique in a few hours, but you made hundreds of them, perfectly. Add to the fact that you had been training yourself to get that technique down for at least two straight hours, you were pretty much unfazed by the amount of bunshin you had produced; you could easily surpass all of the Hokages. Not even I could do what you had done!"

Iruka and Naruto seemed surprised by this fact.

"Naruto, there is also a way you can train even faster with the technique that you learnt."

This again, surprised Iruka and Naruto.

"What is it?" Iruka asked, suddenly curious.

"With the Kage Bunshin technique, anything the clone learns will be transferred to the user upon it being dispelled."

Iruka raised both eyebrows at this.

"What's so special about that?" Naruto asked, not really catching on.

"Naruto, if your bunshin were to read a book, when you dispelled it, you would remember anything it had read."

Naruto thought for a moment when it suddenly dawned on him.

'_I could read the books without actually having to read them!'_

Sarutobi seemed to be thinking as well.

'_With the amount of clones he could make, he could easily get his chakra control to the level of a Chunin within the next three weeks. If he were to also work on Kata's just to see how they work… Naruto you truly are on the way to becoming an amazing Shinobi…'_

Naruto was already scheming on how to use this to his advantage they made it to his apartment.

"Now Naruto, I bought these for you as well" Iruka said. He reached into a bag to present four weights, to be worn on his arms and legs.

"With these weights on, you'll increase your strength and speed by just walking around in them doing day to day things. You should also wear them for training of course."

Naruto beamed and immediately set down his bags and started to put them on.

"They're adjustable, just put a bit of chakra into them and they'll get heavier."

Naruto did as instructed as he thought they were a bit light. It took a moment for the weights to adjust to the chakra, but when they did, Naruto groaned slightly.

"Whoa… That's heavy…" He could still walk but with quite a bit of effort. Lifting his arms was also a chore but he guessed he could get used to it.

"Naruto, if I were you I wouldn't take those off to often. The Kyuubi is constantly healing your body, so I think you would get more out of it if you wore those weights constantly. You'll probably be used to the current weight by the end of the week" the Hokage advised.

Naruto nodded as he looked at the stairs he had to climb with the weights on.

'_Damn it, this is going to be harder than I though…'_ He took a breath and started trudging up the stairs to get to his door.

"Naruto, I expect to see you in a few days to get your photo for your ninja license" the Hokage called after him.

"Yeah… I'll do that…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was sitting on the roof of his apartment, looking at the Hokage monument.

'_It's been nearly a week wearing these things, and I can finally jump from building to building…' _he thought tiredly.

He glanced down and watched people walking through the streets. He noticed a head of pink hair and blushed.

'_There's Sakura-chan… Man, why does she have to be so in love with Sasuke?'_

He glanced back at the mountain where four faces were carved.

"I bet you never had to deal with that kind of stuff, did you…" he said to his father's face.

'_What would he do in this situation?'_ Naruto asked himself. '_He would probably just recognize it as a lost cause… I mean, I like her and all, but she hits me too often and she's really bossy… Then she isn't really that great of a Kunoichi either. Sure she's smart, but what the hell? Plus, she isn't the nicest person around… Hell, Ino's kinder than Sakura. She treats Choji and Shikamaru with some respect, even if she is head over heals in love with Sasuke… Sakura treats all the other guys like obstacles in her way...'_

Naruto sighed as he went back into his one room apartment via a window.

He looked around and picked up a book.

'_Which chakra control exercise do I move onto now…? I finally got those leaf exercises done… Hm, tree climbing?'_

"How the hell does that help chakra control?" he asked himself before continuing on.

Naruto continued to read the page and reread it to make sure he had it all memorized.

He set the book down and walked out the door, leaving his new jacket at home, but the rest of his attire on.

He walked through the streets, ignoring the glares and the new looks of confusion.

He knew what the confused looks were for. Everybody had heard of his failure in the academy and yet he still had received a Hitai-ate. Not only that, but he hadn't pulled a prank on anyone in five to six days… It was a new record.

Naruto had been surprised by the new looks, but quickly gotten sick of them. It was just like he had been told not long ago… He should be aiming for positive attention, not negative.

Although, confusion was kind of neutral, wasn't it?

'_What the hell am I thinking about this for? I should be focused on how to do this tree climbing thing…'_

Half an hour later, Naruto was in the same clearing he had been in when he had learnt the Kage Bunshin technique. He had taken a liking to this spot, as it was secluded and he hadn't seen anyone out here before.

Naruto took out one of his kunai, just as the book had advised for marking his progress and focused chakra into the soles of his feet. He ran towards the tree and placed his foot on the bark. He attempted to place his other foot on the tree but slipped off and hit the ground, hard.

'_Damn weights…' _thought Naruto.

He got up and looked around the clearing.

'_May as well try…'_ He made the familiar cross with his fingers and shouted, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

At least twenty other Naruto's appeared.

"You know what to do!" he ordered. "Hai!" the bunshin replied before picking a tree and starting their exercise.

Naruto turned to face his own tree and glared at it.

'_I will get this exercise done by dawn!'_

Naruto charged up his feet with chakra and ran at the tree yet again.

When he set his foot on the tree, the bark seemed to explode and throw Naruto away from it.

'_I think I get it… Too much, you're pushed away, too little, nothing happens…'_

Naruto concentrated for a few minutes this time, trying to get the proper amount of chakra concentrated.

He kept waiting as the clones around him had varying results… But he didn't pay them any attention.

'_Now!'_ he thought as his eyes snapped open.

He ran at the tree, fast, wanting to, needing to get up the tree.

First one step, two, three… He was actually running up the tree! Then, he lost his concentration. He slashed at the tree, marking where he had gotten and fell back down.

Naruto landed on the ground and looked up.

"Ten feet… Maybe nine…"Naruto sighed.

'_At least it's progress… What's that saying? The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step?'_

Naruto sighed as he stood back up.

"Back to the grind" he muttered to himself.

XXXXXXXX

Naruto was having a pleasant dream, involving him standing on top of a tree, in the Hokages robes when he felt something poking his side.

"Stop that…:" he mumbled out as he turned onto his side.

"Gai-sensei, he seems to be alive!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. '_Why is someone so loud this early in the morning?'_

Naruto opened his eyes only for him to shut them again and reopen them.

'_Those are some serious eyebrows this guy has!'_

"Hello there my youthful friend!" said the boy looming over him.

Naruto stood up quickly and looked the newcomer up and down.

The boy was taller than Naruto, which wasn't that hard to be, and seemed to be wearing a green leotard.

On his legs were orange leg warmers and on his arms, were wrappings, covering his forearms up to his knuckles.

"My name is Rock Lee, and you are?"

Naruto continued to inspect Rock Lee.

His eyebrows seemed to be very large… The largest he had ever seen. His hair was in a bowl cut style, and his eyes seemed to be large and full of a word Naruto would come to fear… Youth.

"My name is Na… I mean Uzumaki Naruto."

'_I nearly said Namikaze… I need to stop practicing saying that in the mirror…'_

"It is a pleasure to meet you Naruto-san!"

Naruto nodded when he noticed that there was someone behind Lee.

"Hello there Naruto, my name is Maito Gai!"

Naruto was glad that he had been practicing hiding his emotions all his life and for the book on proper etiquette otherwise he would have been very rude…

'_HOLY SHIT! Those eyebrows are fucking HUGE! What are these guys? The wonder twins?'_

Maito Gai seemed to be wearing nearly the exact same outfit as Lee. There were only a few differences. Gai didn't have any wrappings on his arms and was also wearing a flack vest. His facial structure seemed to be stronger and his eyes weren't as wide, but were just as youthful.

"So why are you out here on such a youthful morning Naruto-san?" Lee inquired.

"Oh, I was out here training last night and I guess I just pushed myself too hard."

"What were you working on?" Gai asked.

"Tree climbing exercise… I think I have it down… I probably would if I wasn't wearing these damn weights…" Naruto mumbled the last part, but Gai and Lee both heard it clearly.

"You are wearing weights?" they both asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah! It's pretty cool, but I've only been wearing them for about six days, but I'm starting to get used to them."

"May we see your weights Naruto-san?" Gai asked immediately.

"Um… sure I guess…" Naruto took off all four of his weights and handed them to Gai.

'_Hm… They aren't too heavy, but he just started wearing them and they seem to be heavier than when I got Lee his first set of weights… They're adjustable which is good… Not too bad…'_

"Have you had to readjust these recently?" Gai asked.

"Um… twice… Once when I first got them, then just yesterday… I get used to them pretty quickly."

Gai nodded. _'It's the Kyuubi… I had heard that Uzumaki Naruto had been gifted with a healing ability by having the Kyuubi inside of him… I guess it's true. He's getting used to the weights because his muscles are constantly healing and adjusting, meaning he's getting stronger every second… In a few months, he could be as fast as Lee…'_

"I have to say there Naruto-kun" Gai said, taking no notice of Naruto's reaction to the added honorific, "it's fantastic that I've met another youthful Genin that is using weights… The only other one being Lee here!"

"Really!" Naruto exclaimed. "That's awesome! How heavy are yours?" he asked the green clad Genin.

"That is a good question Naruto-kun" Lee said, also taking no notice of Naruto's reaction to the honorific. "I've been wearing them for a year now, so they are quite heavy."

"Wow… I'll bet…" Naruto said, his jaw feeling slightly lax.

Gai smiled at the blonde. "Tell you what Naruto! How would you like to train with Lee and I!? We could always use another training partner! What kind of Taijutsu do you use?"

Naruto looked away from Gai for a moment before answering, feeling ashamed.

"I don't have any style… I was never taught one."

Gai remembered hearing that Naruto wasn't the academy's favorite student, but not being taught even the academy style Taijutsu?

"Tell you what Naruto, how about Lee and I teach you our style? It's called the Goken style! It relies on speed and strength and is one of the greatest styles a man could want! What do you say!?" Gai asked as he gave a thumbs up and a sparkling smile.

"Uh…yeah! Sure! That would be awesome!"

"This will be great Naruto-kun! I have not had a training partner in Taijutsu so this will be new for both of us!" Lee exclaimed as he too gave Naruto a thumbs up.

"Yeah, this'll be fun!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto arrived at his apartment after learning when and where to meet Gai and Lee the next day. Unfortunately for him, he had gotten an eyeful of what seemed to be a horrible Genjutsu that is activated by the two green clad Shinobi hugging.

Naruto was sure to have nightmares of the two later that night.

He quickly undressed and went to take a shower in the bathroom.

He threw on his weights and a clean outfit and jumped out his window, forgetting that he had put his weights on.

The result felt painful, and the ground underneath him had cracked slightly, but he was in too much pain to notice.

"Fucking weights… I'm not doing that again anytime soon… FUCK! Did I break any bones!? Fuuuuck!" Naruto seemed to be cradling his legs for a few minutes as people looked on in confusion and anger at the loud Genin.

Finally, when the pain had dissipated, Naruto got back onto his feet and slowly walked to the Hokage tower where he had to have his photo taken and submit it along with his information.

'_Too bad I didn't have time to do anything cool with face paint… That would've been cool, but probably not very Shinobi-like… Meh, at least I look good in these clothes.'_

Naruto sighed as he walked through the village, look from building to building.

'_It's a nice day that's for sure… Then again, when isn't it a nice day in Konoha…? We hardly ever get snow, and it rains once in a while… It'll be nice to get missions outside of the village, get some variety and all.'_

Naruto grinned to himself.

"Gotta love Kage Bunshin" he said, drawing a few curious looks from Shinobi he was passing by.

'_My vocabulary is getting better; I guess reading isn't all that bad, especially when it's my clones that are doing it instead of me!'_

He made it to the tower and entered it quickly, thankful that it wasn't too busy today as it had been on some days quite frequently.

He made his way to the proper floor and opened another door.

"Hi… I'm here to get my photo taken for Ninja Registration…" he said politely to the receptionist at the desk.

The woman at the desk didn't even bother looking up.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" she asked.

"Um… yeah…"

"You were supposed to be here five minutes ago… Go to the roof, that's where they're taking the photos…"

"Um… ok, thanks."

"Whatever…" the receptionist said.

'_Wow… what a bitch…'_ thought Naruto as he scowled at her before leaving the room and heading up further.

He made it to the roof to see a middle aged man wearing glasses waiting with a large camera.

"It's about time you made it Uzumaki, I've been waiting here for hours!"

'_Liar… I'm five minutes late…'_ Naruto shrugged and walked over to the spot marked with an X.

"I'm guessing I stand here?" he asked.

The man glared at Naruto before speaking. "Don't get sarcastic with me Gaki… Now hold still while I take the picture."

Naruto rolled his eyes and waited.

'_Another thing I should thank books for… Patience…'_

A few minutes later, Naruto grinned for the camera and told to go to the Hokage's office.

Naruto yawned as he walked down and almost didn't notice when he bumped into someone.

"Sorry" Naruto apologized as he turned to face the person he had bumped into.

"Naruto?"

"Shikamaru?"

"Why are you wearing a Hitai-ate…? Scratch that, why aren't you wearing your orange jumpsuit… not that I'm complaining or anything."

Naruto grinned at him. "I passed the exams! Plus, I thought it was time for a change!"

Shikamaru grinned. "Man, you look a lot like the Yondaime Hokage with those duds…"

Shikamaru noticed the gleam in Naruto's eyes when he mentioned this.

'_Interesting…'_

"Really? I didn't notice… Anyways, I'm in a real hurry, I have to go down to Oji-san's office to fill out some crap! See you in a few weeks Shikamaru!"

With that, Naruto turned around and walked away.

'_Huh… He seems to be straining a bit more with walking… and he seems… taller?'_

Naruto continued on towards the Hokage's office and bumped into another person. This time, it was a man.

"Sorry sir… I wasn't paying attention to where I was going…"

"It's alright…"

Naruto looked at the man and was slightly amused.

'_What kind of guy wears a mask and has his Hitai-ate so you can only see his right eye?'_

The man seemed to be wearing standard Jonin attire, with his Hitai-ate slanted over his left eye and a mask covering all but his right eye. His silver hair seemed to defy gravity and pull to the left. He seemed to be holding an orange book titled Icha Icha Paradise.

"Aren't you Uzumaki Naruto?" the man asked suddenly.

"I am… Who are you?" he retorted.

"Hatake Kakashi… You seem to be dressed, differently than usual…"

Naruto didn't find this surprising at all as most people had seen him either performing a prank, or running from ANBU all over the village.

"Felt like it was time for a change…" Naruto said. Kakashi eyed him for a bit longer before shrugging.

"Sometimes, change is a great thing…" with that said, he started to walk past Naruto.

"Don't I get one?" Naruto asked.

"Get what?" Kakashi asked as he started to read his book.

"An apology… You seem to have been reading a book and you bumped into me… Don't I get an apology?"

Kakashi looked at him before closing his eye which resembled a U, meaning he was smiling.

"You already admitted to bumping into me and you apologized, meaning I don't have to… But if it will make you feel better, then I'm sorry for bumping into you."

Naruto grinned at Kakashi before continuing on.

"Nice to finally meet you Naruto…" Kakashi whispered to himself before vanishing in a flurry of wind and leaves.

Naruto finally made it to the Hokage's office and trudged in.

The Sandaime Hokage smiled at Naruto while his two advisors, Koharu and Homura gave him blank looks.

"How has everything been Naruto?" The Sandaime asked as he set down the photo he had just received of said Shinobi.

"It's awesome! I'm getting stronger already! I've been working on that tree climbing exercise and I think I'm ready to move on to the next step!"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow at this as did his two advisors.

"Really? Would you care to show us?" It wasn't Hiruzen that had asked, but Koharu.

"Um… Sure!" Naruto was taken a back that the old lady had taken an interest in him at all.

He walked up to a wall and focused his chakra and began to climb the wall, up to the ceiling, and started walking across the ceiling as if it were the floor.

"How long have you been practicing this technique?" Sarutobi asked the blonde Genin.

"I started this one last night… Took me all night, but I got it down finally, especially after I used the Kage Bunshin to help learn it."

Suddenly, Koharu and Homura were whispering to each other while the Hokage beamed with pride.

"That's quite an amazing feat Naruto… Especially for someone with your chakra capacity."

Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Thanks… But it was really hard and I didn't take any breaks…"  
Sarutobi nodded. '_He definitely inherited Minato's drive…'_ He looked down at the photo and the papers that had all of Naruto's information.

"Well Naruto, I think everything is ready… So all you have to do now is wait another two weeks and then you'll attend the academy one last time for team assignments."

Naruto beamed at this. "That's great Oji-san! I'll just…" Naruto was interrupted by the door opening suddenly and blur entering the room.

"On guard old man!" came the voice of a small boy.

'_Not this again…'_ thought the aged Hokage.

The blur suddenly tripped over its own feet and fell to the ground.

"This is a trap! Right!?" It was a small boy, was wearing what seemed to be a large scarf, shorts and a shirt with a cap over his hair.

"You!" he shouted while pointing at Naruto. "You made me trip!"

Naruto clenched his fist in anger.

Before anyone could react, he held up the boy by the collar, ready to deck him.

Once again, the door opened to reveal a man in a black bodysuit, a black bandana and sunglasses.

"Naruto! Unhand the honorable grandson this instant!" Naruto glanced at the man before looking back at the boy.

"That boy is our Hokage's grandson, Konohamaru!"

At this, Konohamaru grinned at Naruto.

"Go ahead; hit me, if you dare."

'_This is how it always is… Once they find out who my grandfather is, they all…'_ he didn't get time to finish his thought as he felt Naruto's fist impact on his skull.

"I couldn't care less whose grandson you are! You're still a brat!"

With that said Naruto shoved past the man in the black bodysuit and stormed out of the building.

The man, also known as Ebisu, watched the Kyuubi Jinchuriki storm off and mutter to himself.

'_So that is the demon… Most interesting type of clothing he has now…'_

Ebisu rounded upon his student Konohamaru to find that… "Where did the honorable grandson go?"

XXXXXXXXX

Naruto was starting to get pissed off, plain and simple. Not only did he have to deal with someone who he knew judged him for the fox, but the Hokage's grandson was stalking him, and wasn't doing a good job of keeping out of sight.

Naruto stopped walking, letting his anger get the better of him and whirled around, pointing at the poorly disguised academy student.

"Listen, I don't know what you want and I really don't care, just stop following me!"

Konohamaru lowered the cloth that was painted to look like a fence and chuckled.

"So you noticed me following you, the stories don't lie…"

Naruto stared blankly at the kid before whirling around and walking away.

"Get lost kid!"

Konohamaru ran past Naruto and blocked his path. "No! I need you to teach me that Oiroke no Jutsu so I can beat the old man and take over as Hokage!"

Naruto stared at the kid for a moment before busting out laughing.

"You!? Hahahaha! That's good kid! Believe me, if that was all that was needed to become Hokage, I'd be the Godaime Hokage right now!"

"Please?" Konohamaru begged. "I'll do anything to learn that awesome move."

Naruto looked at the boy who was on his knees now.

'_Why not… It'll help kill some time… I'll just have some Kage Bunshin head home and read up on a few things!'_ Naruto made a cross shape with his hands and six bunshin appeared.

"You guys go home and pick something to read…"

The Bunshin all saluted the original and ran off towards their apartment.

Konohamaru looked on in awe at his new idol.

"Come on… um… what was your name again kid?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Konohamaru!" he exclaimed eagerly.

"Alright! Let's go and train!"

XXXXXXXX

"**Oiroke no Jutsu!**" Konohamaru disappeared in a plume of smoke only to reveal a fat grotesque, possibly female version of him.

"Wrong" Naruto said flatly. "It's been four hours and you keep doing the same thing… Look."

Naruto formed the ram seal and in another plume off smoke, Naruto disappeared only to reappear as a nude, beautiful blonde teenage girl with what seemed to be at least a D cup.

"Like this" 'she' said to the boy.

Another puff of smoke and Naruto was back to his original self.

"Keep trying…"

XXXXXXX

Naruto had just gone to relieve himself behind a tree when he heard Konohamaru.

"BOSS! I think I did it! Come back and see!"

Naruto sighed. '_He better have… It's been eight hours since we started…'_

Naruto reappeared to see Konohamaru forming the ram seal.

"**Oiroke no Jutsu!" **A puff of smoke later and there stood a beautiful, slender, well endowed, brunette girl.

"Well?" 'she asked.

Naruto grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"It's about time too!" Konohamaru reappeared with a huge smile on his face.

"Now I can become Hokage!" he exclaimed.

"That's a load of crap" Naruto said, frowning at the young boy.

"Huh? What do you mean? I'm on the shortcut to becoming Hokage" he said innocently.

Naruto clenched his teeth and resisted the urge to smack the boy.

"There aren't any shortcuts to becoming Hokage you twerp! The only way to become this village's leader is through hard work. Nothing else!"

"There you are honorable grandson!" came Ebisu's voice.

Naruto and Konohamaru looked up to see the Jonin looking down at them from the trees.

'_Damn demon...'_

'_That same damn look… Always because of the fucking fox!'_

Ebisu jumped down from the trees and started walking towards Konohamaru.

"Come now Konohamaru, if you associate with people such as this, it will cause difficulties on your shortcut to becoming Hokage."

Naruto had had enough of the shortcut talk and the glares and did the one thing he knew would work, but Konohamaru was already on it.

"**Oiroke no Jutsu!**"

Ebisu stared, and stared…

"Such a thing is unbecoming of me! Stop this foolishness honorable grandson and let's go!"

Konohamaru deactivated the jutsu in confusion.

"Why didn't it work? That's a killer technique?"

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" The clearing was suddenly full of Naruto's.

Ebisu merely grinned at this. '_Such a trick may have overwhelmed a feeble minded fool such as Mizuki, but that shall not work on me!'_

Then he noticed that they all were forming the ram seal.

Naruto grinned. '_Game over…'_

"**Harem no Jutsu!**" The Naruto clones suddenly were dozens of beautiful women, all swooning over Ebisu, and unsurprisingly, naked.

It took a moment for Ebisu's mind to process what was happening, and when it did, it overloaded, and Ebisu was tossed back from the force of blood pouring out of his nose.

The clones all disappeared, leaving a grinning Naruto, a shocked Konohamaru and an unconscious Ebisu left in the clearing.

"Like I said, there are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage."

Naruto turned to Konohamaru and stared at him. "You may want to become Hokage one day, but in order to do that, you're gonna have to take that title from me. I will be Hokage on day" he said with such force, Konohamaru was reminded of his grandfather.

XXXXXXX

In his office, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched through his crystal ball, smiling serenely at the young blonde.

'_There is no doubt in my mind, that you will be Hokage, Naruto…'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto dispelled his clones as he walked into his crammed apartment room.

He sat down on his bed and kicked off his sandals, sorting through the memories of what his Bunshin had read.

'_Hmmm… Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama founded this village… fought each other… could control Biju… tailed beasts… wood release…'_

On and on the knowledge continued to pour into his skull, all about the history of Konohagakure.

'_Ugh… History lessons…'_ Naruto sighed and looked out the window at the setting sun, casting an orange glow on the village.

Naruto sighed and got back up; knowing that he still had to continue training for a few more hours before he went back to bed.

'_Two more weeks to catch up… Maybe I can master the regular bunshin jutsu… but why would I want to?'_

Naruto pushed these thoughts away and grabbed a scroll that his father had left him and headed out to the clearing he trained in.

XXXXXXXXX

Naruto sat down at the base of a tree that he had clearly used for the tree climbing exercise, as there were kunai slashes straight up the tree.

There was enough light left that Naruto could still read what jutsu he was going to attempt to learn.

"Hmmm… A water technique? Uh… No hand seals! Nice! Hm… Suiton: Hahonryu… Hmmm…" Naruto looked up to see that there wasn't any water source around, which seemed to be recommended when first learning the jutsu.

"Well… From what I remember…" Naruto mumbled to himself as he pocketed the scroll and took to the tree branches. '_Not too far from here… There!'_

He rocketed through the trees, his weights helping him move faster with momentum.

He found the river he was looking for and tried landing just on the bank but overshot.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuuuuuuck!" With a loud splash, Naruto landed in what seemed to be the deepest part of the river, his weights dragging him down.

'_Fuck! Gotta kick hard to get to the surface!'_ he thought frantically.

After a few seconds of slowly ascending, his legs started to cramp up.

'_So close! Come on!' _Naruto broke the surface of the water and took in a quick breathe of air before going back under.

'_Okay… Now to get to the river bank… Come on Naruto! You can't just drown here!'_

Naruto could feel himself inching his way to the shallower parts of the river, but it was slow progress, and he seemed to be sinking as well.

'_Wait… I see the bottom!'_ Naruto looked up to see that the surface wasn't too far.

'_All I have to do is hold my breath a bit longer…'_ He hit the bottom and immediately started to walk along the bottom.

'_I could always take these weights off, but what would Lee and Gai say?'_

He felt the pain in his lungs, signaling that he needed air, and soon. He kept up the hard work and continued to slowly walk along through the cool water.

His lungs were screaming at him and he was starting to feel light headed now.

'_Just a bit further!'_ he yelled at himself mentally.

Finally, his head emerged from the water, cool air greeting his scalp. Naruto jumped up, far enough to get his entire head above the water to get another breath of air before going back under and continuing forward.

One minute later, he was on the ground, wheezing, enjoying the air that he took for granted.

"I'm… never… doing that again…" he wheezed out.

He took his coat off along with his black shirt, leaving him clad only in his pants.

He dug through the coat's pockets and pulled out the scroll the jutsu was written on.

"All right… let's get to work on this shall we?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto woke up in his bed, wishing he hadn't agreed the day before to start training with the 'youthful' duo.

He pulled on his training clothes, which consisted of a plain black Gi.

He popped his neck and walked out of his apartment and walked down the stairs. On the street, Gai and Lee were already waiting for him.

"Ah! Naruto-kun, you are early! I take it that you are ready then?" Gai asked him enthusiastically.

Naruto could only nod, not feeling like talking this early in the morning.

"All right! A light jog around the village to warm us up!" With that said, Gai and Lee took off at high speeds down the street, heading for the outer wall.

'_Light jog?! They're running at the speed of light!'_

Naruto started to run after them, attempting to catch up with the two energetic Shinobi.

Naruto found out, that a 'light jog' for Gai and Lee, was twenty laps around the entire village at speeds that seemed inhuman.

Afterwards, it was to the training grounds for some sparing… Or it would have been if Naruto had known any type of Taijutsu.

"Alright Naruto! Today we'll start on some of the basic forms for the Goken style of Taijutsu! Just copy Lee's poses and I shall correct you when needed!"

It was then that Naruto first started to realize just how much he had missed out on in the academy. Both thanks to previous teachers that ignored him, to him constantly skipping out on school when he had Iruka as a sensei.

'_I'm such a loser…'_ Naruto thought as he was corrected by Gai for the hundredth time.

For what must have been hours, Lee and Gai had Naruto go through the rigorous poses over and over until they felt that he was starting to get the hang of things.

"I'll say this much Naruto! In a way, it is a blessing that you weren't taught any form of Taijutsu!"

Naruto looked at Gai as if he were insane. '_He probably is though…'_ Naruto thought…

"If you had been taught any other type of Taijutsu, you would be having a much tougher time as you would get Kata's from this style and the other style confused, which could end up costing you your life in a mission. However, this way, you shall only remember the Kata's for this style, meaning you could perform it perfectly one day to an extent that could surpass Lee or even myself! I must say that I am slightly jealous of you!"

Lee could only nod in agreement.

'_I never even thought of it like that… I guess I owe those jerks at the academy a thank you!'_

After another hour reviewing the poses and Kata's he had learnt that day, Gai decided to call it quits for the day.

"Naruto, I want you to practice those whenever you can! Tomorrow, we shall see if you have been practicing! For now, Lee and I must return to our Shinobi duties and meet the rest of our squad! Until tomorrow!" Gai and Lee both struck the same pose, complete with sparkling teeth and thumbs up.

Naruto sweat dropped, hoping to god that his new sensei wouldn't transform him into something like this.

Naruto headed back into town to see that it was fairly close to noon.

'_Guess I should head over to Ichiraku's… I haven't been there in a while and I'm sure they've been wondering where I went to…'_

Naruto continued to walk home, too tired to run or jump from roof to roof.

'_Man… If I keep up that kind of training, I'll definitely surpass Sasuke-teme!'_

He made it to his apartment much slower than usual and had some difficulty climbing the stairs to his door.

He quickly showered and changed before heading back out and headed towards the ramen bar he loved so much.

'_Man… A nice hot shower really does a lot of good!'_ he thought to himself as he didn't feel as drained as he had when he got home.

He walked down the street, ignoring the usual glares he received, occasionally grinning to the fact that he was getting stronger.

'_After this… I'll go back to the river and work on that jutsu…'_

Naruto made it to his favorite restaurant and took a seat on one of the stools.

"What will… Naruto?"

"Hi there old man!" Naruto said to the owner of the ramen stand.

"Where have you been!? Ayame and I were worried you'd forgotten about us!" the ramen chef accused.

"How could I forget you guys? I've just been busy with training is all! Besides, I'm here now aren't I?"

Teuchi nodded. "True! So what'll it be Naruto?"

"Hmmm… Three bowls of miso ramen!"

The chef nodded and got to work right away. "I like those new clothes by the way Naruto! They look a little familiar though…"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, I've heard that! My old outfit was getting a bit… old… So I thought it was time for an upgrade!"

A new voice joined the conversation. "I think they look good on you Naruto-kun!"

Ayame had snuck up on the once orange clad Shinobi and scared him.

"Oh! Ayame-neechan!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Glad to see that we haven't been forgotten" Ayame teased. "So you've been training?"

Naruto nodded as he was handed his first bowl of ramen. Ayame took a seat next to Naruto, as she wasn't working yet.

"Yeah, been learning a few chakra control techniques and I'm working on this one jutsu! It's really hard though… Oh! And I met someone named Maito Gai who's helping me with my Taijutsu!"

Ayame smiled at how enthusiastic Naruto was being about the whole thing as he slurped down his ramen at the same time.

"AH!" he exclaimed when his first bowl was finished. "How I have missed you ramen!"

Teuchi took notice of this and asked Naruto something. "Haven't you been eating ramen lately?"

Naruto shook his head. "I can't eat it too often anymore… Not if I'm to become a great ninja. I was reading about it, and a ninja actually needs a balanced diet… I don't like it too much, but as long as I can have ramen at least twice a week, I'll live."

Ayame and Teuchi both stared at Naruto. "W…what? Do I have a noodle stuck to my face?" he asked as he started feeling around his face to see if there was anything on it.

"N…no… Just… it's nothing Naruto…" Ayame said, still in shock.

'_Naruto's reading?'_

"But anyways… Yeah, so I had to start cooking different kind of meals… It took me a few tries, but now I can make things that are at least edible."

This caused jaws to drop. '_Naruto's cooking as well?'_ Naruto continued to talk as he waited for his second bowl.

"It's a lot of trial and error, but I'm only getting better!"  
Teuchi snapped out of his shocked state first.

"Congratulations Naruto! You're finally becoming a true man!"

Ayame just nodded her head in agreement.

"Thanks! Does this mean I get this ramen for free?" Naruto asked, hopeful of yes.

"No chance! If you're only eating here once in a while, you're going to be paying for all of your meals!"

Naruto hung his head at this. '_Man… Free ramen is the best…'_

Ten minutes later, Naruto was done with his ramen and was filling the two ramen cooks in on the gory details of his training.

"I've seen those two guys walking around here doing the weirdest things. Walking on their hands, to carrying boulders through the streets" Teuchi commented shaking his head. "Naruto, if I ever catch you wearing what they wear, I'll ban you from eating ramen at my establishment."

"W…why?" Naruto asked. The fact is that Naruto had been given the same type of outfit that his Taijutsu teachers wore by Gai, and he had been planning on trying it on that night.

"It's an abomination Naruto! Never wear one, ever!"

Naruto could only agree to not wear it… It wasn't worth being banned from Ichiraku's.

Finally, Naruto said his goodbyes and headed for the river he had been training at the night before.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he arrived, he created fifty Kage Bunshin and ordered half of them to continue the tree climbing exercise.

"I need to make sure that I have that mastered by the end of next week!" he yelled to his bunshin.

"Hai!" they all replied.

"The rest of you will help work on this technique with me!"

The remaining twenty-five clones nodded and set to work.

In the tree tops, a figure was watching him with interest.

'_Hmm… Naruto just got a whole lot more interesting'_ thought a certain curious Nara.

XXXXXX

Naruto left his clones to continue working on the Suiton jutsu and went to check on the tree climbing group.

"How's it going over here?" he asked.

One of his bunshin that was resting got up and walked over to him.

"Great boss! We're just walking up and down the tree now. Making sure we have the hang of it just like you asked."

Naruto nodded his head in approval.

"Good, I'm going to go work on that Taijutsu!" The bunshin nodded to the original and left to pick a tree and continue mastering walking up it.

Naruto left them and walked a little further into the forest.

'_Man… This is awesome!'_ In his head, he could already imagine himself impressing Sakura, putting Sasuke to shame, and being handed the Hokage's hat.

He quickly got into the beginning pose that he had been taught and slowly moved through the few Kata's he had been shown.

'_I can't let Gai-sensei or Lee down!'_ He had earned their respect just by wearing the weights, and now he wanted to keep that respect by mastering the Taijutsu they were teaching him.

Over and over, he went through the Kata's, not wasting any time, or energy. Occasionally, he would notice that something felt off and he would try to readjust himself.

A few times, he caught himself trying to speed through them and making more mistakes.

'_No… I need to get them perfected first! Just like my father's scrolls say… You must master the basics to master the technique…'_

He continued on into the night until he felt it was time to check up on his clones. He had received a few memories from clones that had accidently been hit, but not enough to figure out how far they had made it.

He checked up on the tree climbing group first. Eighteen of the original twenty-five remained.

"All right guys, I want you all to dispel right now!"

Without another word, they all exploded into smoke, their memories and experience assaulting Naruto's mind.

'_Not too bad'_ he thought to himself.

He glanced back at one of the trees and then continued on to the other group.

"How's it going over here?" he asked the closest Bunshin when he arrived.

"Well, we did use the jutsu a few times, but it's too weak right now…"

Naruto nodded. "Okay then… I think that's enough for tonight then." The remaining fifteen nodded and disappeared.

Naruto felt the memories flow into his head, seeing what was working and what wasn't.

Naruto held out his hand and concentrated on the chakra in his hand. Converting it to what the scroll had said, felt like a rushing current. A small amount of water shot out of the river and into his hand, swirling around in a small vortex, reminding Naruto of a whirlpool… Although, it was only the size of a small coin.

'_Better than nothing…' _he thought to himself as he cut the chakra flow, allowing the water to fall into his hand.

He shook his hand dry and started back towards the village.

XXXXXX

Two weeks had come and gone. Naruto could already feel the effects of all the training he had been going through starting to pay off. It was the day of team assignments and Gai and Lee had agreed that Naruto should take the day off. He was already making wonderful progress to the point that he could actually spar with Lee now.

Naruto lost of course, as Lee had much more experience with the style and was a lot stronger than Naruto. Gai had commented though, that if he kept up at this rate, he would be on even ground with Lee in a few months time. Naruto beamed at this, but said nothing, having been taught by Gai in a few other subjects as well.

Naruto had to increase his weights every four days, as his muscles would get used to them quickly and Gai had quickly explained the reason being his healing factor.

'_One good thing about being a Jinchuriki…'_ Naruto had thought gloomily. He had finally figured out what he was technically called in the Shinobi world, and he hated the term straight away. '_Human sacrifice? That's all I am?'_

He had nearly tossed the book out the window, but realized that it was a hard truth… He didn't have to like it though.

He had to admit, reading wasn't so bad now that he thought about it. In a way, it was slightly entertaining, reading about past wars. Especially when he got to the parts about the third great Shinobi war.

There were chapters just about his father's battles. All of them being wins.

'_I have a lot to live up to' _Naruto thought to himself.

And now, here was Naruto, smiling into his pillow as he awoke that morning. The sun streamed through his window and lit up his one room apartment, warming the sheets that lay on top of Naruto. He could hear the people on the streets going about their business. The noon air was like perfume and…

'_Wait a minute…'_ Naruto sniffed the air, his enhanced senses kicking in.

"SHIT!" he yelled as he threw the covers off of him. "I'm late! I'm sooo late! Shit shit shit shit!" Naruto scrambled around his apartment. "The one day I sleep in past five and I wake up at noon!" Naruto jumped into the shower in the bathroom and grimaced when he realized that there was only cold water.

'_Fix that later…'_ he thought to himself.

Once he was cleaned, he jumped out and threw on his boxers, his weights, and then the rest of his clothes that he taken to wearing now.

He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed that his face was a bit leaner.

'_Wow… That training's starting to pay off!'_ Naruto looked himself up and down, getting used to his new look. '_May as well measure myself again…'_ he thought.

Back in the academy, Naruto would always measure his height, to see if he was getting any taller. His height was a sensitive subject for him and he hated being so short.

He walked to the wall and placed his back to it, standing straight up. He took a kunai out of his holster and pressed it against his scalp. He then pressed it into the wall until he was sure that it was in there properly.

He stepped away and looked.

"No way… I'm an inch taller!"

Naruto was jumping for joy at this point. He grabbed his kunai out of his wall and placed it back in the holster and left his apartment at high speed for the academy.

XXXXXXX

"Where the hell are they?" Sakura screeched.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he merely glared at the pink haired girl.

"Naruto's late, and so is our new sensei!" Sakura was pacing around the front of the classroom, vaguely reminding Sasuke of Iruka when he was irritated.

Sakura kept glancing at the door and her crush, torn between adoration, and irritation.

'_Naruto's been keeping us waiting way too long… That BAKA!'_

'_**At least it's just me and Sasuke though! I owe you Naruto! Shannaro!'**_

Suddenly, they heard a crash outside the door.

Sakura ran to it and opened it to find two people lying on the ground.

"I'm so sorry sir I… Kakashi?" One of them was Naruto, but he was dressed differently.

The other one was a mask wearing Jonin, with only one eye visible and gravity defying silver hair.

"Hello again Naruto" the man said lazily.

Naruto got to his feet first and offered a hand to the Jonin.

"Sorry… I was running late and so I wasn't really watching where I was going."

Kakashi waved his hand, his eye in a U shape indicating he was smiling.

"It's okay; it must be our thing, to literally bump into each other."

Naruto chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

That's when Naruto noticed Sakura looking at him, torn between shock, and rage.

"Ah! Hi Sakura-chan! Have the teams already been formed?"

"Naruto you BAKA!" she yelled, throwing a punch at the blonde Genin.

Naruto was torn at the moment. He saw the punch coming and had the choice to avoid it, or take it. As usual, the blonde took the latter and impacted on the wall.

"G…gomen Sakura-chan…" he muttered from the wall.

'_Weird… That didn't hurt too badly. Gai and Lee throw harder punches.'_

Kakashi looked on at the situation; wondering if now would be the best time to announce who he was…

"I take it you are Haruno Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura hesitated, slightly shocked that he knew who she was.

"H…Hai…"

"Good! I guess I'm in the right place! I'm sorry I'm late, I was walking past a tree and a cat was stuck in it, so I got it down and hunted down the owner to return the cat!"

'_What a lame excuse…'_ thought Naruto.

"Meet me on the roof in five minutes" Kakashi said with a bored expression on his mostly covered face. With that said, he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sakura could only blink.

"Hey, uh… Sakura-chan? whose team am I on?" Naruto asked.

"Dobe…" came Sasuke's voice. "What's with the new outfit?"

Naruto glared at the Uchiha. "None of your business Teme!"

"Hn" Sasuke retorted as usual.

Sasuke started towards the stairs to head to the roof. Sakura quickly followed as Naruto poked his head inside the room.

'_Damn… I'm on the same team as Sasuke… great… Oh well. At least I'm with Sakura-chan!'_

With that, Naruto followed his new teammates to the roof of the academy.

XXXXXXX

"How about we all introduce ourselves?" Kakashi suggested.

"Um… how?" Sakura asked.

"Oh you know… Likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, you know!" he answered with a bored expression.

"How about you show us how?" Sakura suggested.

Kakashi shrugged. "My name is Hatake Kakashi; my dreams are none of your business… I like plenty of things and I have tons of hobbies."

'_All we learnt was his name…'_ thought the Kunoichi of the group.

"You next" Kakashi said as he pointed to Sakura, who was on the right of the group.

"Ok… Um… My name is Haruno Sakura and I like…" she glanced at Sasuke.

"My dreams are…" she glanced at Sasuke again, only this time, she blushed and squealed.

'_It seems that she's just a fangirl… great…'_

"I hate Naruto!" she declared angrily.

Naruto hung his head slightly, hurt by the statement.

'_Maybe I should just give up on her… She obviously only has eyes for Sasuke.'_

"You next" Kakashi said as he pointed at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have many likes but I dislike many things. I don't have a dream; but a goal. To restore my clan and to kill… a certain man."

Sakura looked on in amazement while Kakashi raised an eyebrow. '_That's to be expected.'_

Naruto had mixed emotions. '_From what I read, I'm going to go ahead and guess that it's his brother… Who else would he want to kill? Uchiha Itachi is in the bingo book for killing off his entire clan save for Sasuke.'_

"Last one up."

Naruto glanced at Kakashi.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are pranks and training as well as the few friends that I've made in the past few weeks. "My dislikes are people who judge someone for something out of their control. My dreams are to become Hokage and to surpass my father."

'_That shouldn't be too much information'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi all looked surprised at the last part.

'_Father?'_ Sasuke asked himself. '_I thought he was a nameless orphan.'_

'_He's lying about that last part I bet…'_ thought Sakura.

'_Hmm… I guess he really does know about Sensei being his father.'_

"Well, I think that's all for now. Take these as tomorrow, we'll be doing an exercise to see if you all have what it takes to be Genin" said Kakashi as he handed them each a piece of paper with the rules he was about to explain.

"Exercise?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi nodded. "A test, to see if you can have what it takes to be Genin."

"But we already took a test" Naruto retorted.

"That was to weed out the weaklings. You all have the potential, but let's see if you have enough. Tomorrow, we'll meet at the training grounds listed on that paper. Seven in the morning, oh and don't eat breakfast."

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"If you do, then I hope you enjoy puking it up" he said simply.

"What kind of test is it?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi started to chuckle.

"Well, let's just say that this test has a sixty-six percent fail rate. Meaning that only nine Genin out of the twenty-seven that graduated will make it. The rest will be sent back to the academy for more schooling."

At this, all three Genin gulped.

"Till tomorrow… Ja ne!"

With that, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves and wind.

Immediately Sasuke got up and started to walk away.

"Sasuke! Do you want to practice together to prepare for tomorrow?" Sakura asked as she got up to follow him.

"No" he said simply, walking away.

Sakura stopped in her tracks, rejection sinking in.

"Hey Sakura-chan, if you want, I can…"

"NO WAY!" she yelled at him.

Naruto scowled slightly, irritated at Sakura.

"No need to yell Sakura… I was just trying to offer you help."

"You? The dobe? Offering me help?" Sakura asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, but I guess you'll be alright" Naruto said politely as he walked past her.

"Of course I will be!"

Naruto shrugged. "If you say so. See you tomorrow Sakura." With that said Naruto opened the door to the stairs and walked away, just as Sasuke had done.

It took Sakura a moment to figure it out, but it finally hit her.

"Wait… he didn't call me Sakura-chan!" '_Maybe he's finally out of my hair!'_

Sakura beamed at this new revelation and skipped the rest of the way home.

XXXXX

_**Translations:**_

_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **_(Shadow Clone Technique)

_**Oiroke no Jutsu **_(Sexy Jutsu)

_**Suiton: Hahonryu **_(Water Release: Tearing Torrent)

_**Well, honestly, I'm proud of that chapter… I really didn't want to write out the Mizuki scene, kinda just useless for me as it's the same… If that bugged you, I'm sorry, but I was VERY lazy. Don't worry, it won't happen again from now on. By the way, this will be a NarutoXIno… Get over it and no, I won't change it no matter what.**_

_**Chapter two is in two weeks, so I hope you can bear the wait…**_


	2. Squad Seven

**Okay… It's a little late… My bad… I've been procrastinating for a bit and only had half of this done for a while… Again, my bad. I'll try not too do that again. At least it's here though! So, enjoy it as I prepare the next chapter for this fic as well as my other. Oh boy… **

**Disclaimer: Own Naruto I do not… How sad…**

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Squad Seven**_

Naruto stood on one of the highest branches. He had been training for a few hours, perfecting the technique he had learned.

Now, he was simply staring at the setting sun, which was casting an orange glow on the trees.

'_It's so peaceful… I can't believe I never noticed before.'_

Naruto continued to watch the setting sun for a few more minutes before deciding to head back to the village for some food.

He jumped down to a lower branch, and then to another branch even lower.

'_I'm not risking breaking my legs again…'_ Naruto finally reached the ground in about ten seconds.

He looked around; taking in the damage he had done to the shore of the river.

Small craters dotted the ground here and there, showing his improvement over the past two weeks.

Naruto grinned to himself, planning on celebrating by ordering a few extra large bowls of ramen at Ichiraku's that night.

Naruto started walking back to the village, deciding that he would enjoy taking it easy for the rest of the evening.

Slowly though, his mind started to wander until it hit one specific subject.

'_Sakura… Why did I have to pursue you for so long…? I'm such an idiot for doing that.'_

Naruto sighed to himself as he kicked a small rock in his way. '_I mean, what did I see in you?'_

Naruto suddenly remembered just why he had fallen for the pink haired girl.

"She was being picked on…" Naruto mumbled to himself. '_I related to her I guess… We both knew what it felt like… Then she fell in with Ino and the others, and she started bullying as well…'_

Naruto stopped for a moment clenching his fist as he remembered all the times he had been bullied by the Kunoichi.

Then it hit him. "I was the only one she bullied!" Naruto's face was filled with surprise before it twisted into a frown.

"I was the only one…" Naruto breathed in deeply, before exhaling.

'_Control your emotions… You're a Shinobi now.'_

Naruto clenched his fist, feeling his nails digging into his palm painfully.

'_Why was it only me…'_

Naruto just stood there until he felt like he had composed himself.

'_It doesn't matter now… I'm trying to get over her, and I will succeed. I don't need that abuse any longer; it's time to stand up for myself!'_

Naruto shook his head, trying to change what he was thinking about when he remembered his newest sensei.

'_Kakashi… He seems alright… The mask is kinda weird, and his Hitai-ate… Then what does he mean by, don't eat any breakfast…'_

Naruto started to wonder about this as it didn't seem to make sense to him.

'_I remember reading in those books Jii-san and Iruka-sensei bought me that you should always eat breakfast… Never skip it if you can help it. Otherwise, you're giving yourself a huge handicap…'_

Naruto just couldn't understand why Kakashi didn't want them to eat breakfast.

'_Wait! Maybe he's just stupid! Damn it!'_

Naruto was just walking through the village gates as he screamed, "Why does my sensei have to be the stupid one?!?!?!"

The two Chunin currently on guard duty stared after the young blonde in confusion.

Naruto noticed that he had just yelled out something seemingly random in front of other Shinobi and had the good graces to be embarrassed.

Naruto sighed as he continued on his way to Ichiraku's when he felt his heart stop.

'_Why now!?'_

* * *

Sakura was walking home from the library, wondering about her brooding wonder.

'_Sasuke-kun… I can't believe he's actually on my squad! I'll win him over in no time!'_

She blushed as she imagined herself in Sasuke's arms.

'_Oh… It would be terrific! Ha, and that would show Ino-pig!'_

Sakura continued to think of various fantasies of her and Sasuke being together until she caught sight of her other teammate.

'_Oh great… It's Naruto…'_

Sakura was already preparing to reject his request for a date and pummel him into the ground.

She clenched her fist, getting ready for the moment.

She kept walking forward as Naruto walked towards her.

'_All right, here we go…'_

'_**Shannaro! You're gonna pay Naruto!!!'**_

She kept walking, and walking, straight past Naruto without a word.

'_What the hell? What just happened?'_

At first, Sakura was confused at what had happened, but she quickly figured out what was happening as anger filled her very being.

* * *

Naruto groaned inwardly as he kept walking down the street. There was no way he could turn around and run, it was the cowardly thing to do.

So he decided to just not say anything to his teammate, not after how she had reacted to him asking if she wanted help earlier today after meeting their sensei.

'_If she wasn't such a bitch, maybe I would be polite…'_ Naruto thought to himself. '_I mean, all I wanted to do was help, but she just had to insult me yet again.'_

Flashes of being bullied by her resurfaced. Her harsh rejections to his date proposals.

'_All she needed to do was say no, not flip out and knock me senseless.'_

Naruto walked straight past the Kunoichi without a glance.

'_I… I did it! I got past her!'_

Naruto felt as if his world had just brightened a bit. For the first time since meeting her, he had simply ignored Sakura. This was a big step in his opinion as he had never done that before.

'_This seems a lot easier than I thought!'_ Naruto exclaimed mentally. Suddenly, something felt off.

He turned to see Sakura's fist rocketing at his face.

Out of instinct from training with Gai and Lee for the past two weeks, he went to block the strike.

As if on autopilot, he caught the fist, threw it to the side, unbalancing Sakura, and aimed a kick for her head.

Naruto realized what he was about to do and slightly altered the path of his foot, causing it to fly over Sakura's head.

Sakura's jaw dropped at this action as she fell flat on her butt.

'_What was that just now?'_ Sakura asked herself.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the pink haired Kunoichi.

"Don't do that Sakura! I could have given you a concussion!" He snapped.

Sakura's rage returned as she stood up and glared at Naruto.

"What the fuck Naruto! You nearly give me a concussion and you yell at ME?!"

Naruto glared at Sakura. "Shut it billboard brow!"

Sakura was shocked at this. She didn't know what to say as Naruto continued.

"You were the one that initiated an attack and I just reacted like I would normally when caught off guard! Don't blame me for that!"

Naruto spun around and started to walk away.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" he said without looking back.

Sakura's jaw was feeling slack, tears stinging her eyes.

'_He… he called me billboard brow… Maybe he wasn't trying to get my attention by ignoring me…'_

Sakura stood up and ran straight home, not wanting to be seen crying. Those days were behind her. The days when she would be bullied for her forehead and she would cry for everyone to see were over.

* * *

Naruto got to his apartment and slammed the door behind him, panting slightly.

'_What was that just now? I've never felt that angry before! It was like it wasn't even me speaking…'_

Naruto felt even more tired than he had after training.

'_I don't think I can make it to Ichiraku's tonight… I'm just… I…'_

Everything seemed to spin as Naruto fell onto his mattress, unconscious.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Naruto pass out through his crystal ball.

'_It seems as if young Naruto slightly tapped into the fox's chakra… Not enough to be noticeable, but it did drain him when the foxes influence left him… Interesting… If this continues, he'll be able to use the demon's chakra in a battle… He'll become a true Jinchuriki.'_

Sarutobi glanced up at Minato's photo.

"This is something that I must keep to myself… If Danzo were to discover this, he would push for Naruto to join Root again, and I don't need him trying to convince Homura or Koharu… They may agree with him this time" he mumbled.

Sarutobi stood up and popped his back as turned towards Kakashi and Gai.

"You two will have to keep this a secret as well. Monitor him whenever possible. If he is able to tap into the demon's chakra at will, I may need to send for Jiraiya to check up on the seal. I want to make sure we are all safe before I allow Naruto to use the Kyuubi's chakra."

Gai and Kakashi both nodded.

"Kakashi, you are dismissed for now; I wish to speak with Gai alone."

Kakashi nodded as he pulled out his infamous orange book.

"Yes Hokage-sama."

He turned and walked out of the room as he skimmed through his book, trying to find where he was at previously.

Once the door was shut, the Sandaime motioned for Gai to take a seat.

"How is his Taijutsu training coming along Gai?" Hiruzen asked.

Gai took a breath before starting, looking completely serious.

"Well, it was rough at first… I thought that he would be perfect for the Goken at first, but something always seemed to be off."

Sarutobi nodded as he took his own seat at his desk, reaching into his robes for his pipe and some tobacco.

"So we started to experiment for a bit. I mean, don't get me wrong Hokage-sama, he is quite proficient at the Goken, given enough time he could surpass Lee, but I think he could be better."

Sarutobi closed his eyes and nodded again as he lit his pipe and inhaled.

"So we began tweaking the Goken a bit to fit Naruto."  
"How are you tweaking it?" The aged Hokage asked.

"We've already begun. We've decided to incorporate his Kage Bunshin jutsu into the style. Before you object Hokage-sama" Gai said at the look of horror on Sarutobi's face. "Naruto's chakra capacity is enormous. I've had him create enough clones to resemble an army, and he still wasn't out of chakra!"

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at this.

"So Naruto and I have been slowly creating a style by combining the Goken style with the Kage Bunshin jutsu."

"What have been the results thus far?" Hiruzen asked the Taijutsu specialist.

Gai grinned, flashing his sparkling teeth in the process.

"Fantastic! It's a style only Naruto can use, and it far surpasses the Goken alone. There were a few stances that have been changed around, making it a defensive and more fluid style than the Goken, but much of it is similar."

"So it isn't the exact same?" Sarutobi inquired as he exhaled more smoke.

Gai shook his head. "No. There are variations to this style. It requires even more speed than the Goken though to be truly successful."

"When do you think Naruto will be able to use this style effectively in combat?"

Gai thought for moment before answering. "Well, at his current rate, by the time the Chunin exams begin, he should be able to crush much opposition. The only ones I think would give him a challenge would be my own two students, Lee and Neji."

"Only a challenge though?" Sarutobi asked, wanting clarification.

"Well, Naruto's speed and strength are going up quickly thanks to the demon sealed within him. The healing factor is giving Naruto the edge in his training. He has more stamina than anyone I have ever met, and his drive surpasses even my own."

The Hokage chuckled at this.

"He trains as hard as he can, and attempts to surpass what he has done constantly. The other day he…" Gai was interrupted by a knock at the Sarutobi's door.

"Come in" the Hokage spoke.

"Hello Sarutobi-dono."

"Danzo…" the Hokage nearly growled.

"Ah… Maito Gai… It has been a while."

Gai simply nodded, not trusting the old war hawk. He turned to the Hokage.

"I shall give you the rest of my report later Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi nodded to the Jonin as he stood up and left the room.

"What is it Danzo?"

* * *

Naruto woke up the next morning, feeling slightly sore, but otherwise ok.

He looked out the window to find that the sun hadn't even risen yet.

He yawned as he sat up on his bed and looked around before noticing that something was off.

He looked down at himself and found that he hadn't changed out of his clothes the night before or even taken his weights off.

"Better get a shower and change before breakfast…" Naruto mumbled just before he yawned.

He stretched out, feeling his joints pop slightly, before rising to his feet, noticing that his sandals were still on as well.

"What happened to me last night?" he asked himself. '_I just got so tired after Sakura pissed me off… Weird.'_

Naruto took his jacket off followed by his clothes and his weights as he headed for the shower.

The hot water was broken, again, but it helped wake him up at least.

He quickly dried himself off and put on some boxers before sitting down and pouring him a bowl of cereal and grabbing a green apple.

'_Wait… Kakashi said not to eat…'_

Naruto wondered whether he should do what he was told by his superior, or to go with his gut and eat.

'_Wait… He only suggested that we don't eat tomorrow… It wasn't an order!'_ Naruto thought with a foxy grin etched on his face.

He dug into his breakfast with gusto. Once finished, he grabbed another one of his clean outfits form the closet and threw it on.

'_Alright, let's see here. What do I need?'_

He decided to bring what he normally would. Kunai, shuriken, wire, a few scrolls with a couple things sealed inside.

He then strapped on his weights and looked out his window again.

The sun was finally starting to rise, signaling that morning was approaching quickly.

"Better get there early!"

Naruto ran out of his apartment and took to the building.

'_Man… My weights are feeling light again… I guess I'll increase the weight when I get to the training grounds…'_

Naruto felt the cool morning air whipping his face as he increased his speed when he reached the trees.

Finally, he reached the training grounds that his team had been told to meet at.

When Naruto landed on the ground, it slightly buckled under his weight.

'_Whoa…I gotta be careful about doing that…'_

Naruto quickly formed the ram hand seal and focused a bit more chakra into his weights, feeling them weigh down even more.

"Ok! That should be okay!" Naruto exclaimed at the change. '_I better start getting used to these! This test may involve some fighting if we're outside'_ Naruto thought as he started to walk around slowly, weighed down by his weights.

Naruto kept it up for about thirty minutes before he felt that he was starting to get used to it enough that he could fight somewhat.

"If this is going to be a drawn out fight, it'll help me get used to the weights faster. Naruto kept it up for about thirty minutes before he felt that he was starting to get used to it enough that he could fight somewhat.

"If this is going to be a drawn out fight, it'll help me get used to the weights faster."

Naruto decided to sit down and wait for his teammates and sensei as he had gotten there early and there was still at least half an hour to wait before seven.

Finally, Sasuke was the next one to arrive.

The Uchiha still wasn't used to Naruto's new look and almost didn't recognize the blonde Genin.

"Hey there Sasuke" Naruto greeted politely.

Sasuke nodded his head, not saying anything.

'_He's different… Not as loud or obnoxious. I wonder what happened in the past few weeks…'_

Sasuke didn't mind though, far from it. He preferred this new persona of Naruto's. One less problem for him, although he was sure that the dobe hadn't gotten much better since the academy. After all, what could change within two weeks?

Sasuke stood a slight distance from his blonde teammate with his hands in his pockets, waiting for the last two members of squad seven to arrive.

Not much later, Sakura skipped onto the field, but halted when she saw Naruto, his words still fresh in her mind.

She focused her attention on her crush, deciding that it didn't matter what Naruto thought anyway.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed as she ran up to the brooding boy.

Sasuke ignored the Kunoichi, already irritated by her presence.

"Isn't today a great day! I mean, this is the first day of our team!"

Sasuke nearly shivered. '_The dobe and the banshee… Kami must hate me or something…'_

Then Sasuke noticed that something was off. He glanced at the other male Genin in wonder. '_Why didn't he greet Sakura like normal? He isn't even looking at her! Did I miss something?'_

He glanced at the pink haired Kunoichi, making her blush in the process before returning his gaze to Naruto.

'_It's none of my business I guess…'_

Sasuke closed his eyes and began going over different battle tactics in his mind.

'_This must be a test to find out what we are capable of in the field, why else would we be meeting at a training ground?'_

Sakura noticed that Sasuke had glanced at not only her, but Naruto as well.

'_Great… Sasuke must have been comparing me to the dobe…'_

'_**How could he compare us? I'm so much better than that Baka!'**_ inner Sakura exclaimed.

Sakura sighed as she sat down on the grass next to Sasuke.

'_At least Sasuke is here to keep my mind off of things.'_

That was when Sasuke had decided to go and lean against one of the three training posts in the middle of the grounds.

'_Or maybe not…'_

For the next two hours, the three Genin sat in an awkward silence. But that was also when Sakura and Sasuke noticed something strange.

Naruto sat in the lotus position, meditating.

'_Since when did the dobe meditate? I remember back in the academy he couldn't even sit still for more than five minutes unless he was asleep… I know he isn't asleep; his breathing is too light… He's aware of his surroundings.'_

Sakura however just took it as he was trying to show Sasuke up.

'_That Baka! I should give him a piece of my mind!'_ Sakura screamed mentally until she remembered what had happened the day before when she had tried attacking him.

'_On second thought…'_

Naruto was aware of what Sasuke and Sakura were up to at the moment, standing there staring at him.

One was confused, while the other was… angry.

Finally, Naruto sensed him…

"It's about damn time!" Naruto yelled as he opened his eyes.

Sasuke noticed Kakashi's presence at the same time as Naruto and was slightly surprised that the dobe had gotten it just as fast as he had.

Sakura however was slightly confused.

"What the hell are you talking about you Baka!?" she screamed at him as she stood up, starting towards him until she heard Kakashi speak.

"Sorry for my being late, but there was this old lady that needed help getting her cat out of a tree and someone accidently aimed a Katon jutsu at the tree, so I had to take the cat to a vet" their sensei explained.

Sasuke glared at the silver haired Jonin for his lame excuse.

"You liar!" Naruto declared angrily.

Sakura nodded in agreement.

Kakashi ignored them as he set down the backpack he was wearing and pulled out an alarm clock.

"Well, I think it's time we started, don't you agree?"

The three Genin nodded in agreement; ready to face whatever Kakashi had planned.

"Your objective is to get these bells from me before the timer goes off. Whoever doesn't receive a bell, shall be tied to one of the posts right behind you, and have their lunch eaten in front of them by me!" Kakashi declared with a smile on his face.

Sakura and Sasuke both felt their stomachs growl in hunger, loud enough for both Kakashi and Naruto to hear.

Kakashi narrowed an eye at Naruto. '_It seems as if Naruto didn't take the bait like the others… Strange… He's really surprising me since I met him. Then again, he has been catching up with his classmates. He's probably surpassed them in certain aspects.'_

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Sounds like somebody didn't take my advice… Care to tell us why you ate breakfast Naruto?"

Sasuke and Sakura both glared at the blonde.

"Naruto you Baka! That's not fair that you get to eat while we starve to death!!!" Sakura yelled, ready to pound Naruto into the ground.

Naruto aimed a glare at the pink haired Kunoichi, making her stop in her tracks. This didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi and Sasuke. Kakashi already knew what had happened the day before and wasn't surprised at this.

Sasuke was however and felt his jaw slacken slightly as his eyebrows shot up.

'_What the hell is up with Naruto? I've never seen him glare at anybody like that before, much less Sakura! Something _must_ have happened between them, something big. He wouldn't act like this otherwise. I mean, he's always taking her abuse, what the hell did she do to piss him off?'_

"Well Kakashi-sensei, I remember reading in several books that skipping breakfast is ill advised. It can handicap you for the rest of the day as you won't have too much energy and you never know what might happen as a Shinobi. I didn't think you were actually trying to do that though. I thought you were just an idiot."

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "Don't call him that! He's your superior, show him some respect."

Kakashi simply chuckled. "You're honest… I like that in a person Naruto."

Naruto beamed at this. He had hardly ever received any type of praise, and this was one of the few times.

'_I like this Kakashi guy! He's really nice!'_

"Well Naruto, you're right. Not eating a breakfast can handicap you in a mission; however you won't always be able to eat on a mission. Thankfully we have soldier pills for those types of missions. You could have eaten breakfast as I only suggested that you shouldn't, it wasn't an actual order."

Sasuke and Sakura sighed, knowing that Kakashi was right.

"Anyways, get the rules straightened out. You three will have to try and get these bells from me" he said as he held out two silver bells. "Attack to kill. No holding back at all."

"But sensei" Sakura said. "There are three of us and only two bells!"

Kakashi nodded. "Meaning one of you will lose no matter what."

The three Genin shivered.

"It doesn't seem that bad" Naruto said.

"Oh! I forgot to mention that whoever doesn't receive a bell, shall be sent back to the academy for further instruction."

At this, the three Genin glanced at each other.

'_Never mind then…'_ Naruto thought to himself.

'_This should be easy'_ Sasuke thought to himself.

Sakura seemed uneasy at this. She had already seen a bit of what Naruto was capable of, even though it seemed impossible. Then Sasuke was the rookie of the year.

'_I may have to go back…'_ she thought gloomily.

"You will have until noon… So about ninety minutes… Plenty of time, don't you think?"

Nobody said anything. "Alright then, on my mark, set…" before he could finish, Naruto was already in action, six shuriken flying at the masked Jonin.

Sasuke and Sakura used the distraction to flee the area.

Kakashi merely caught the shuriken out of the air.

"Not bad Naruto, but do you really think that would be enough against a Jonin?"

Naruto popped his neck.

"Not after seeing what Gai-sensei can do! You and he are supposed to be rivals so I can only imagine what you're like to fight with."

Kakashi sighed. "Rivals… He does seem stuck on that idea…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So you're not rivals?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Don't forget Naruto, the test has begun."

Suddenly, Kakashi was behind Naruto, throwing the shuriken faster than Naruto had ever seen a shuriken thrown.

Within seconds, shuriken riddled Naruto's body as he fell to the ground.

Sakura and Sasuke both gasped from their hiding spots in the bushes.

'_He killed him! This Jonin isn't fucking around!'_ Sasuke thought as a chill ran through his body.

Sakura couldn't comprehend what she had just seen. Their sensei had just murdered their teammate. She felt her eyes tearing up when Naruto's limp body exploded into a cloud of smoke.

'_A bunshin?'_ thought the two Genin.

'_It was solid though… What technique was that?'_ Sasuke asked himself.

Suddenly Naruto flew out of the trees at Kakashi faster than usual.

Kakashi jumped out of the way as Naruto impacted on the spot where Kakashi had just been a split second before, creating a small crater covered in dust blown up from the impact.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. '_He's increased his weights quite a bit… He must be training himself into the ground to make that kind of progress.'_

Naruto jumped up after his sensei through the smoke, using it as a cover.

Kakashi had been expecting this and had heard his student come after him.

Kakashi's fist made contact with Naruto's stomach, knocking the wind out of the blonde.

'_He hit's just as hard as Gai…'_ he thought to himself.

Kakashi then grabbed Naruto's collar with his other hand and spun him around and throwing him at a tree.

Naruto twisted in the air and used the tree as a springboard to launch himself back at Kakashi who was now visible as the smoke had cleared.

Kakashi was starting to descend towards the ground when he saw Naruto hurtling at him yet again. Kakashi pulled out a few kunai and threw them at Naruto, expecting him to use a Kawarimi.

Naruto quickly made the one hand seal for the Kage Bunshin.

Without a word, a clone appeared next to him and grabbed his sleeve, tossing him just under the kunai, towards the spot that Kakashi was going to land.

'_Impressive usage of Kage Bunshin…'_ Kakashi thought with mild surprise.

Naruto landed first, thanks to his bunshin throwing him, and pulled out a kunai, ready to throw it up at his sensei only to find that he wasn't there.

"You know" a voice said behind Naruto. "That was a clever idea, using your shadow clone to do that."

Naruto felt a kunai on his throat.

"It's a shame that I know that jutsu and felt like trying out your idea."

Naruto smiled to himself. "Gotcha." Naruto exploded into smoke.

"Another Bunshin!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"That's right!" Naruto said as he stood in the ready stance of the Goken style.

'_Great… Gai just had to teach him this style… His form seems fantastic for only a beginner.'_

Naruto smirked. "It's not what you think"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "The Goken style, correct?"

"Not quite" Naruto said as he disappeared.

Kakashi knew this move already; Naruto was going to attack from behind.

The Jonin spun around to find not one, but two Naruto's.

'_This is different!'_

Kakashi intercepted their punches before quickly kneeing one, and elbowing the other. However, they both exploded into smoke.

'_Decoys!'_ Kakashi berated himself mentally.

Before he could whirl around, Naruto's foot collided with the side of Kakashi's face.

Unprepared for the blow, Kakashi flew across the training grounds and crashed just short of the river.

Sakura and Sasuke stared; jaws open at the fight before them. They had never seen Naruto fight like this ever! He seemed to have improved quickly within the past two weeks.

Kakashi picked himself up and looked at the blonde Genin.

'_His improvement is astounding. He really could achieve his dream of surpassing his father… I mean if two weeks did this, imagine if he kept up at this rate for five years.'_

Kakashi rubbed the left side of his face where he had been hit.

'_That's one hell of a kick he's got there, and I don't know if that was him holding back or not.'_

"Interesting style you have there" Kakashi said as he brushed the dirt off of his clothes.

Naruto grinned. "It's unique to me only. Gai-sensei is helping me develop it."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the new information. '_Unique huh… I'll have to agree to that… Incorporating Kage Bunshin with that style is a risky maneuver, but Naruto may have the chakra reserves for it.'_

"Here I thought I could get a few chapters of my book read… My miscalculation…" Kakashi mumbled to himself.

* * *

Sasuke glared from the bushes he was hiding in.

"How did Naruto improve so quickly? It doesn't make sense at all… Was he holding back in the academy, or did I miss something?"

Sasuke kept his eyes glued on the battle, looking for an opening that he could use to get one of the bells.

"He's much better than I had anticipated…" Sasuke mumbled.

* * *

Sakura who was a bit further from Sasuke's location couldn't find any words to say nor think. She was flabbergasted at how good Naruto was compared to when he was in the academy two weeks earlier. He hadn't been able to win in any of the spars or Taijutsu test and yet here he was, taking on a Jonin singlehandedly and seemingly winning.

Then there was that clone jutsu. She distinctly remembered that Naruto's worst subject was the Bunshin, and yet now he was not only able to make clones, he was able to use solid clones in combat.

'_It's amazing…'_

* * *

"You know Naruto; I never expected the dead last of the graduating year to be this good."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Naruto yelled as he jabbed a finger at Kakashi.

"It means you're much better than I had anticipated. I may have to stop holding back as much."

Naruto gulped. '_He was holding back??? I don't think I'll be able to get through this match without lowering my weights… which I promised Gai-sensei I wouldn't do at all for a few months… Until the Chunin exams…'_

Kakashi quickly disappeared, leaving Naruto slightly baffled.

'_Where the hell did he go?'_

Kakashi's voice sounded behind. "This is one of Konoha's most sacred and dangerous techniques."

Naruto paled when he realized that Kakashi was behind him, ready to unveil this jutsu.

Kakashi was crouched behind Naruto, forming the tiger seal with his hands.

"**Sennen Goroshi!**" he declared as he preformed the technique.

At first Naruto didn't know what to think until he was propelled forward through the air, his butt feeling as if it were on fire.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Naruto landed in the river, holding on to his butt in pain.

Sasuke and Sakura both blushed, wondering the exact same thing. '_Is our sensei an idiot?'_

Kakashi stood up, watching the river in anticipation.

"What could he be up to now?" Kakashi wondered.

Meanwhile, in the water, Naruto was struggling with his weights yet again.

'_FUCK!!! Why did I have to land in the river?'_

Naruto formed the ram seal, focusing some chakra into his limbs, just as he had been doing for most of the fight to increase his speed with the weights on.

He started swimming up to the surface, trying to come up with a new battle plan.

'_I don't want to reveal my new jutsu yet, but I may have to.'_

Naruto broke through the surface of the water to find that Kakashi wasn't around.

'_What the hell? Maybe he located one of the others… He didn't say whether he would look for us as well…'_

Naruto got out of the river and looked around for any sign of their sensei.

* * *

Sasuke cursed his luck as he heard Sakura scream in the distance.

"I shouldn't have thrown those damn shuriken when Naruto disappeared. He was on guard the whole damn time."

Sasuke sighed as he sensed his teacher.

"I'm not like the others" he declared.

"Well Sasuke, I wouldn't be bragging until you've gotten a bell." Kakashi said as he was reading an orange book while leaning on the tree behind Sasuke.

Sasuke whirled around, unleashing a barrage of shuriken at the Jonin who quickly evaded the projectiles by jumping out of the way.

Sasuke followed up with some Taijutsu, surprising the Jonin with the ferocity of the attacks.

'_I can't even read my book with him either! In fact, this kid may be better than Naruto!'_

Sasuke kicked at Kakashi, which was blocked with one hand. Sasuke then went to punch him but that hand was caught. Sasuke then used his other foot to attack Kakashi, but was yet again blocked, this time by Kakashi's forearm. Sasuke smirked as he used his last remaining hand to reach for a bell quickly. His finger had brushed against it when he felt himself being thrown back by the silver haired Jonin.

Sasuke landed and glared at his teacher. '_I was so close…'_

Kakashi was surprised at the Uchiha's strategy.

'_He was close… too close…'_

Kakashi looked at his forearm, checking to see if Sasuke's kick could have done any damage but found there was nothing wrong.

'_He doesn't hit as hard, but maybe that's because Naruto was wearing weights…'_

Kakashi stowed his book in his equipment pouch.

"Lesson one, Taijutsu."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the teacher.

"Let's skip that lesson then" he said as he started forming hand seals.

Kakashi's eye widened when he recognized the seals. '_A fire release jutsu? He's just a Genin; he shouldn't be able to use that!'_

Sasuke smirked as he inhaled.

"**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!**"

Sasuke breathed out, creating a large fireball that seemingly incinerated their new sensei.

Sasuke halted the technique a few seconds later to find nothing remaining.

'_Where is he? Behind, above? Wait…'_

Suddenly, Kakashi's hand broke through the ground beneath Sasuke and grabbed his ankle.

"**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!**"

Before Sasuke could react, his entire body, save for his head, was buried in the ground.

"Lesson three, would be Ninjutsu." Kakashi said as he crouched over the head of Sasuke with a smile on his covered face.

Sasuke could only glare at the man.

Kakashi walked away, leaving the Genin alone, or so he thought.

"Sasuke…" Naruto's voice whispered.

"N…Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he attempted to look behind him, with no success.

"Yeah. Let me help you get out of here."

Sasuke said nothing as Naruto walked around Sasuke's head so that he could see that it was actually him.

Naruto made the cross seal for the Kage Bunshin jutsu and began to use his clones to quickly dig the raven haired Uchiha out of the ground.

It only took a minute or so to do and once he was free, Sasuke nodded in appreciation to his new teammate.

"I guess I owe you…" he mumbled.

Naruto grinned. "Well, I wanted to ask you a favor Sasuke."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. '_Never thought I'd see the day that Naruto would ask me to help him out…'_

"It's obvious that we can't take this guy on alone, how about you and I team up and get those bells!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"I got pretty close, he just took me by surprise" Sasuke sneered.

Naruto frowned. "He's just playing with us Sasuke. He even managed to escape your little bonfire."

"Shut it dobe" Sasuke said, angry that Naruto had just insulted the fireball technique.

"Fine, I'll leave you alone Sasuke… I tried."

Naruto whirled around and took to the trees, heading back to find Kakashi, and try to get a bell.

Sasuke glared after Naruto.

'_May as well watch to see if there could be any openings…'_ he thought as he took off after Naruto.

* * *

Kakashi stood in the middle of the clearing that they had started from, reading his book yet again.

'_Here comes our maverick ninja yet again'_ Kakashi thought as he put his book back in his pouch, knowing he was going to need both hands in this spar.

Naruto exploded from the trees, already charging at Kakashi.

"It's not going to work" Kakashi said as he prepared himself.

Just as Naruto was a few feet from the Jonin, he jumped into the air and threw a kunai at the Jonin.

Kakashi quickly snatched it out of the air and threw it back at the Genin.

Naruto threw a shuriken to intercept it and landed on Kakashi's other side.

Naruto whirled around, throwing a roundhouse kick at Kakashi which was dodged.

'_I don't feel like getting hit again'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

Naruto continued to attempt to hit his sensei, but to no avail. Kakashi would keep dodging the strikes, just by mere centimeters.

'_He knows what he's doing…'_ Naruto thought to himself. He then jumped back, leaving quite a bit of space between the two.

Naruto was back in the ready stance of the Goken.

'_I've got to end this quickly; I can't keep using my chakra to compensate for the weights…' _Naruto thought to himself. '_Guess I'll have to use it.'_

Naruto sprang into action, pumping chakra into the soles of his feet, making him rocket towards Kakashi.

'_Good chakra control'_ Kakashi made a mental note of it for later.

Kakashi was now forced to actually have to block as the hits came. They were to fast to merely dodge.

That's when Kakashi noticed that Naruto was driving him back towards the river.

'_There must be a bunshin hiding in the water, waiting for me'_ Kakashi thought.

He grabbed one of Naruto's fists and whirled him around, throwing him into the river.

Kakashi was surprised when Naruto jumped back out of the water, two seconds later, with a grin on his face.

"Too bad for you sensei" he said with a grin.

Kakashi was confused for a moment until he noticed several Kage Bunshin jump out of the river and latch onto him.

'_What's he planning?'_ Kakashi thought as he felt Naruto's chakra spike a bit.

He quickly noticed that he was focusing his chakra into his palm.

'_Is that, the Rasengan???'_ Kakashi wondered in amazement and slight fear. He knew the destructive force of that jutsu and knew it wouldn't end well if he was hit by it.

But then he noticed something different.

'_He's manipulating the water… Swirling it… I know that jutsu!'_

Naruto smirked as he used the water on him to form the jutsu.

"**Suiton: Hahonryu!**" The water swirled around in Naruto's palm in a clockwise motion, reminding Kakashi of the Rasengan in a way.

Then Naruto held out his palm, facing Kakashi and the water shot out at the Jonin.

'_Oh shit!'_ thought the Jonin before being hit with the torrent of water.

Kakashi flew across the grounds, hitting a tree painfully and pinning him there until jutsu stopped a few seconds later.

Kakashi panted as he felt the pain in his chest where the jutsu had struck him.

'_I was definitely not expecting Naruto to know any elemental release jutsu… Where did he learn that jutsu?'_

Naruto landed on the riverbank and stared at Kakashi.

"Here I come" he said as he started to run towards him, but then the alarm suddenly rang, signaling the end of the test.

Kakashi sighed, not wanting to find out if Naruto knew any more jutsu to surprise him with.

'_I won't be underestimating him anymore…'_

Sasuke appeared from the forest, with Sakura trailing behind him.

'_So she's conscious again… I hope I didn't overdo it with that Genjutsu of Sasuke dying…'_

Kakashi shrugged and walked forward. Sakura seemed confused as to why Kakashi was dripping wet, but didn't say anything as she hadn't gotten a bell.

Sasuke was staring at Naruto, having witnessed the jutsu he had used during the fight.

'_Where the hell is he learning all of this!?'_

* * *

Kakashi looked at the three Genin as the sat down. His eyes traveled to Sakura, who was the only one tied up currently.

"None of you seemed to get a bell… How disappointing" Kakashi said in a bored tone.

The three Genin said nothing. "The three of you obviously didn't get the point of this exercise… At least not completely."

The three of the Genin looked confused at this.

"The purpose of this test was teamwork. You were supposed to act and work as a team to get the bells from me."

"There were only two bells though!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's not fair for us to have to choose."

"Nothing is ever fair Sakura. One of you partially got the point of this exercise. Naruto eventually figured that it would be easier to get to the bells by having someone help, in this case Sasuke, but Sasuke found that he was good enough to get a bell for himself without help. Sakura, you were looking for Sasuke the whole time while Naruto was clearly in front of you the majority of the time."

The three Genin looked ashamed.

"Do you know what this is?" Kakashi asked them as he turned to a large stone with writing on it.

None of them said anything.

"It's a memorial for those that have died during a mission, in the line of duty."

The three Genin were silent.

"I'm going to give you one more chance. Naruto, Sasuke, you two can eat lunch and attempt to get a bell again. Sakura, you may also have another go at a bell, but you don't get to eat. If either of you two gives her any food, I'll fail you automatically."

With that said, Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sakura's stomach growled as she stayed silent, watching the two boys grabbing bentos that were left behind by Kakashi.

'_Maybe Sasuke will offer me some food…'_ Sakura thought hungrily as she watched them open the bentos.

Again, Sakura's stomach growled. Sasuke glanced at her, making Sakura's heart skip a beat in anticipation, but felt it plummet when he looked away without a word.

Naruto glanced at the pink haired girl, wondering if he should offer some of his food.

'_She'd probably just think I was trying to get another date from her though'_ Naruto thought angrily. He glanced at Sasuke as he ate his own bento quietly.

'_But if we don't help her out, she'll just be a handicap… I mean, I already ate today; I could just say I'm not really hungry.'_ Naruto sighed as he made up his mind; however, Sasuke beat him to the punch.

"Here" he said as he held out his bento to the tied up Sakura.

Sakura stared wide eyed at the Uchiha.

'_He…he really does care!'_

Sasuke noticed Sakura's face light up, and figured out what she was thinking.

"You'll only drag us down if you don't eat anything" he said flatly.

Sakura's face fell a bit, but she remained happy.

"Sasuke" Naruto started. "She can have mine and you can have yours. I already ate once today and it wouldn't be fair to you guys if I ate two meals and you didn't have even one full meal."

Sakura glared at Naruto for a moment before he glared at her. "Wrong idea Sakura. I'll admit that my crush for you isn't completely gone, but I am trying to get rid of it. I'm sick of your abuse and I think moving on would be the best option for me. So just take the damn bento."

Naruto set his bento on the ground, stood up and walked off.

"I'll be back in a few minutes; I just want to scout the area before Kakashi-sensei gets back."  
Sakura stared after the blonde Genin in confusion. '_I don't abuse him…'_ Suddenly, an explosion appeared in front of them and threw Naruto back, landing next to his other teammates.

Kakashi flew out of the smoke, anger in his one visible eye. "YOU!!!"

Sasuke pulled out a kunai, Sakura screamed, and Naruto didn't know what to do.

"…Pass!" Kakashi stopped right in front of the three Genin, the anger gone and a smile clearly visible.

"W…what?" Naruto stammered.

"You disobeyed my orders…" Kakashi said simply.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Sakura spoke. "Then why do we pass?"

Kakashi chuckled. "It was another test, of your teamwork. Sasuke offered you his food. Many people say that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Sasuke knew this and offered you his food. Of course, I could see that Naruto was thinking the same thing and it did make sense that he didn't need to eat as he had eaten earlier today."

Naruto's jaw dropped. '_I didn't even sense him anywhere close by!'_

"Remember,those who break the rules of the ninja world are scum...yes that's true. However...those who abandon their friends....are worse than scum. Starting tomorrow, squad seven will begin taking missions." Kakashi declared with a thumb up.

Sasuke gave a rare smile as Naruto gave one of his wide smiles.

Sakura had a small smile on her face, still wondering how she had abused Naruto.

Naruto pulled out a kunai as Sasuke and Kakashi were walking away, and cut the bonds that held Sakura.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to ask you out anymore. No need to even talk to each other unless it's necessary to do so. Other than that, don't talk to me, or even look at me Sakura. I'm sick of how you treat me when all I did was try to be nice to you. In a way, you're lucky I'm even being polite. Now if you'll excuse me, the _dobe_ needs to go have some ramen." With that said, Naruto walked off in the opposite direction of Sasuke and Kakashi.

Sakura could only stare after the blonde, getting angry at him for accusing her of abusing him.

'_I have never abused that dobe in any way!!!'_

'_**Shannaro!!! We should kick his ass!**_'

Sakura nodded to herself until she realized just what she had thought.

'_W…wait a second…'_ And then it sunk in, just exactly how she had been abusing him.

"Oh my god…" Sakura muttered to herself. She remembered all the times she had just hit him, even when he was just trying to be nice to her.

'_I really did abuse him…'_

* * *

Naruto jumped through the trees, wanting to get back to his training. '_Man… Sasuke still is better than me! I need to increase my training! He at least touched a bell, nearly grabbed the damn thing. I'll have to ask Gai about training more often with my Taijutsu.'_

Naruto smiled to himself after a moment. "I'm getting smarter at least… I know the difference between Sasuke and me… He's still a jerk though" Naruto said to himself as he narrowed his eyes.

He finally reached his training spot that he had used for everything except his Suiton jutsu.

He landed and took off his jacket, not wanting to ruin it at the moment.

He stretched his limbs out, not wanting to cramp up. He stopped for a moment, glancing at his weights.

'_I want to get stronger faster… I may not be used to this weight yet, but I may as well raise it just a bit more.'_

Naruto formed the ram seal and focused a small amount of chakra into his weights, feeling them weigh down just a bit more.

Naruto grinned as he released the seal and tried moving.

'_It's more difficult, but I bet I'll get stronger a lot faster now!'_

Naruto started off with a few basic exercises, push ups, sit ups, running, jumping jacks, kicking a tree and punching the same tree.

He then moved on to the katas for his unique unnamed style.

He started slowly, making sure he had them alright, knowing that he had screwed a few of the stances up earlier in his fight with Kakashi. He quickly picked up the speed, straining his muscles a bit more.

He grunted as he twisted around, throwing a punch. '_Ok… this is pretty heavy…'_

He kept it up for a few hours, not knowing that he was being watched.

'_Wow… who knew Naruto would improve this much…'_ thought a certain lazy shadow user.

Next to him was a certain Akamichi, wondering just what Naruto was doing.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen grinned as he watched the two Genin spying on Naruto.

'_It seems Shikamaru is trying to figure out the enigma that is Naruto…'_

He looked up from his crystal ball at the gathered Jonin who were all waiting for the chronically late Kakashi Hatake.

At the moment, he was three hours late, a new record.

A knock at the door caused the Hokage and the two other Jonin sigh.

"Come in Kakashi" the Sandaime called.

The door opened to reveal the one eyed Jonin, orange book in hand.

"Sorry I'm so late guys. I crossed a black cat on my way here and had to take the long way."

Kurenai and Asuma both sighed at the lame excuse, having heard that specific one many times.

"Yes, well now that you are here Kakashi, let us hear what the results are" the aged Hokage asked, already knowing the answer, but procedure came first.

"Ah yes" Kakashi said as he snapped his book shut, taking on a serious manner.

"Squad seven, consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto…"

The two Jonin both knew the answer as it had been every year.

"…Pass."

Asuma chocked and nearly swallowed his entire cigarette while Kurenai widened her eyes.

The Hokage chuckled. "Good, that is very good news. Well, that is all I truly need at the moment, however I will need a detailed report done by tomorrow morning before you start any missions."

Kakashi only nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"The three of you are dismissed."

Kakashi quickly disappeared in a leaf Shunshin, leaving Asuma and Kurenai walking out of the door.

'_Squad seven seems to have a lot of untapped potential…'_ Sarutobi Hiruzen thought as he leaned back in his chair, lighting his pipe full of tobacco.

* * *

Sakura walked slowly through the city, wondering just what she was supposed to do about the situation with Naruto.

'_I guess I got what I've wanted for a while… He's stopped chasing after me'_ she sighed as she wandered the streets to a familiar location that she hadn't been to for a while.

She looked up at the Yamanaka flower shop, hardly believing that she was here of all places.

She sucked it up and walked through the front door, hearing the bell ring as she did.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka flower… Forehead?" Ino called out, caught off guard by the appearance of the pink haired girl.

"What do you want Forehead?" The blonde asked her rival.

Sakura said nothing as she glanced at her friend before looking back down.

Ino raised an eyebrow at this. '_That's weird…'_

"Hey forehead, you alright? What happened?"

Sakura glanced once more at her rival before speaking.

"Um… I have a question Ino…"

Ino raised an eyebrow again, noticing the lack of insult from Sakura.

'_Something is really bothering her…'_

Ino sighed as she folded her arms and leaned against the counter, staring at the pinkette.

"Go ahead."

Sakura looked up at Ino, and took a breath.

"Do you think I abuse Naruto?"

Ino was taken aback by the question.

"Uh… Wow… I wasn't expecting that!" Ino exclaimed. "I don't know Sakura. In a way I guess you could say that you do, but Naruto's doesn't really seem to give you any other choice from what you've told us."

Sakura shook her head. "Would you do the same thing as I have?"

Ino again, had not been expecting Sakura to ask her this.

"Well, I don't think I would have. I sometimes wonder why he chooses you over me!" Ino joked. "Then again, you and I are different people and we do things differently. What brought this on though?"

Sakura sighed, trying not to cry in front of her one time friend.

"Naruto got really angry at me and told me that he was sick of the abuse I give him."

Ino's eyebrows skyrocketed. "He said that? I don't know Sakura; he worships the ground you walk on."

"Naruto's changed though" came a voice from the front of the store.

Sakura turned around to see Shikamaru and Choji had just walked into the store.

"Really? How so?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It's pretty weird, but lately Naruto's been training pretty hard. Not just in jutsu, but apparently he's been working on his skills socially and morally. It's impressive."

Choji nodded as he munched on his chips. "He's really improving; I bet he could beat the four of us!"

Ino scoffed. "The dead last from the academy? I really doubt that! He was horrible in all the subjects and he failed three times! He only got through this one with remedial work."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Think whatever you want, but I'm sure as his teammate, Sakura has noticed a huge difference. I'm pretty happy that he ditched the jumpsuit as well."

Ino's jaw dropped. "He ditched that thing? What's he wearing now?" she asked as her fashion sense kicked in.

Shikamaru sighed. "I don't pay attention to that trouble some stuff, it's too troublesome…"

Ino glared at her teammate. "Everything is too troublesome for you!"

Shikamaru said nothing as he turned to Sakura.

"To answer your question with my own answer, yes, you did abuse Naruto. He hasn't really had the best life, but he saw something within you. Too bad I don't see the same thing. You're a good person Sakura; you should start acting like one."

Sakura started to tear up but Shikamaru continued.

"Look, I'm not trying to hurt you, but you need to know that half the time Naruto even spoke to you he was just trying to be nice, but you always assumed he was trying to get a date with you. I sometimes wonder why he tried for so long; anyone else would have stopped trying."

Shikamaru sighed again. "I'm assuming he at least wants to be polite?"

Sakura nodded, not trusting her voice.

"Well, I would rather have that than him outright hating me. He's improving quickly enough that he would be a bad enemy to have."

Choji finished his bag of chips and glanced at Ino.

"Naruto was talking about trying to find another girl to start trying to go out with. You're available aren't you Ino?"

Ino went red at this, and started yelling at the portly Akamichi.

"NO WAY CHOJI!!! I love Sasuke, not Uzumaki!"

Choji just tilted his head to the side a bit. "Well he's a nice guy, you just need to talk to him once in a while to get to know him" he suggested.

"NO!"

Shikamaru chuckled. "Stop trying to play matchmaker Choji. It'll be way too troublesome for all of us if those two got together."

Choji chuckled. "You're right Shikamaru. The two loudest people in Konohagakure dating, that's something nobody needs to experience."

* * *

Naruto sneezed as he finished up the last of his training for the night. '_I better not be catching something…'_ he thought to himself.

Naruto pulled his jacket on, wincing at the pain in his limbs. '_Ugh… pushed myself too hard. I shouldn't have increased the weights that much today'_ he thought miserably.

He started walking through the forest, wincing at the popping of his joints.

"I wonder if this is how Lee feels at the end of the day…" Naruto pondered with a grin on his face.

Taking the same route, he made his way to the village, trying to figure out what he was going to eat at Ichiraku's in a few minutes when he got there.

Naruto just shook it off. "I'll just ask for anything!" he declared to himself.

Grinning with renewed vigor, he took off into the trees, craving the noodles that he missed.

It took only a few short minutes to reach the village gates and a few seconds for the ramen stand to be within sight.

Then, he stopped when he saw his pink haired teammate standing next to the stand.

'_Great… There goes that idea.'_ Naruto thought glumly, not wanting to deal with her.

"Naruto!" she called as he turned around to walk away.

'_Fuck…'_

Naruto turned back around to see Sakura walking towards him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

She reached him and looked at him for a moment before speaking.

"I'm sorry… For hitting you so much…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. '_She's apologizing?'_

"I know I shouldn't have hit you, I just kept thinking you were going to ask me out every time you spoke to me…"

Naruto returned to his glare. "That's what you're apologizing for? Hitting me so often?"

Sakura nodded at this.

"That's not the only thing you did Sakura. Until you can figure out just exactly what you did, entirely, I won't even consider forgiving you!"

Sakura glared at him. "I'm trying to apologize to you and you just shoot me down!?"

Naruto started to walk away when Sakura grabbed his wrist, trying to prevent him from leaving.

"Listen Naruto…"

"NO! YOU LISTEN!!! I am sick of being your punching bag! I'm not forgiving you for this at all!"

Naruto wrenched his arm from her grip and started walking away.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the training grounds."

Naruto took off to the roofs of the village, the anger burning him inside.

* * *

Sarutobi watched Naruto through his crystal ball, a frown on his face.

"Do you think he'll be able to learn how to control it?" he asked the one eyed Jonin next to him.

"Maybe… It's hard to say Hokage-sama. I'm sure it may be hard at first, but he is his father's son. I'm certain he'll find a way to do it."

* * *

**Translations:**

**Kage Bunshin No Jutsu: **Shadow Clone Technique

**Suiton: Hahonryu: **Water Release: Tearing Torrent

**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu:** Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique

**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu: **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

**Kawarimi: **Body Replacement

* * *

**Well, there's chapter two. Chapter three, in progress as you read this. Two weeks, tops. I promise you! Maybe even before then! Off to work I go!**

**Please Review… My sanity depends on it… **


	3. C' Ranked

_**Well, first thing is first… An official apology for being a deuche.**_

_**I said two weeks, and… Well, it's clearly been a LOT longer than two weeks. But, life has a way of fucking me and all, but I won't get into that. I have NOT abandoned this fic, but let's just say that the Wave arc isn't really one of my favorite story arcs in Naruto and it's been hard trying to find a way that I could write this without shaking my head in disappointment. **_

_**Thankfully, I found a way that I find appropriate and I am going to continue with this fic. Hopefully, I haven't lost my touch too much, but remember, it's hard for me to do this story arc. I won't rush it, but I'm trying to get through it without slaughtering it.**_

_**Well, like it or not, here it is. I'm back and I've found my inspiration yet again. Thankfully, the Chunin exam story arc is A LOT more interesting for me and I actually have some story mapped out for that… I will be doing something different with the wave arc and I'm sure, that people will hate me for it… Good for them.**_

_**Without further ado, I present chapter 3 of Rise of a Namikaze!!! **_

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_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**_

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

'_**C' Ranked**_

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* * *

  
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Naruto was walking home from the Hokage mansion, covered in scratches courtesy of a cat by the name of Tora.

'_Fucking cat… Wouldn't scratch Sakura when she held it, but the second I get close it attacks me…'_

The cat would of course attack Sasuke and Kakashi, but only if they were holding the cat. The beast seemed to have an uncanny hatred for Naruto that Sakura had seemed to comment on continuously.

Over the month that squad seven had been together, things between Sakura and Naruto were rocky at best. There were times when Sakura would seem to have forgotten the fights that they had gotten in and would say something, well, not necessarily polite, but neutral towards Naruto.

Other times however, she seemed to have an undying hatred for said blonde. Thankfully for both Naruto and Sakura, she didn't yell at him often and when she did, Naruto would just glare at her and point out her large forehead to shut her up.

Sasuke had at one point approached Naruto after a mission and asked why Naruto was being so hostile towards Sakura lately.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"I can't really say for certain, but I've just grown tired of taking her abuse so often. It just sends me over the edge and I can't really control what I say to her. It just seems to spill out and there's just no end to it in sight."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at this and shrugged before calling him a dobe and walking off, leaving an upset blonde Genin flipping him off.

_**Flashback end**_

* * *

Naruto sighed as he arrived at his apartment building and began to ascend the stairs.

"First thing's first… Change, eat, then train!" the blonde said as anger clawed at him again.

'_If I don't get strong enough, I won't be able to prove my worth to my father…'_

He fumbled with his key and opened the door to the small apartment.

He threw his coat on the bed and changed into his training Gi. He then grabbed a cup and filled it with water.

Raising it to his mouth, he paused and stared at the water inside the cup. Smiling to himself, he used his chakra to pull the water into his palm and activate his Suiton: Hahonryū.

Naruto let the Jutsu dissipate, drenching his hand in the cool water. He refilled his cup and drank the water in one go.

Wiping his mouth, he grabbed his kunai holster and adjusted his Hitai-ate.

Glancing at his weights, he altered the weight, decreasing it until they felt nonexistent.

'_Gai told me to train once in a while without them to get used to the speed… May as well do it now!'_

Naruto opened his window, planning on returning through said window.

He jumped out the window, amazed at how light he felt.

'_Holy shit!'_ He thought as his eyes widened. '_This is so cool!'_

He landed on a building a block away from his apartment.

Grinning, he jumped down to the street below and took off at high speeds, making him into a black and yellow blur to many.

* * *

There were many things Anko Mitarashi did not enjoy. People who judged her for her sensei's actions were one. Those that hated Dango, the holy treat of the world. The list went on and on. But one thing she hated surfaced to her mind when some idiot knocked her aside by not watching where he was going.

'_PUNK ASS GENIN!!!'_ she screamed mentally as she looked at the dango that she had been carrying that was now currently on the ground, covered in dirt.

She began to grind her teeth as she withdrew a kunai from its holster.

"Time to die…" she said under her breath. With that said, she took off at high speed after the blonde haired Genin that had bowled her over.

* * *

Naruto felt bad for knocking over some lady that had just exited a dango shop, but he didn't have time to stop. There was little daylight left and he needed to train a bit more on the Katon Jutsu that he was working on along with more kata's for his still unnamed Taijutsu style.

He grinned when he reached his 'private' training spot.

"Alright!!! Time to start working on…" he did not get to finish his sentence however as he heard a kunai whistling through the air.

He threw himself to the side and quickly recovered his own kunai in hand when another kunai nicked his cheek.

Sensing someone behind him, he preformed a quick Kawarimi and threw his own kunai at who had been behind him a second before.

It turned out to be the woman he had accidentally knocked over, and she was very talented as she had caught the kunai by the blade between two fingers.

Naruto gulped, already sensing that he was outmatched.

'_I already feel like I'm facing Kakashi all over again and I haven't even seen this chick fight.'_

The smile on her face seemed innocent enough, but her outfit contradicted her expression.

'_That's a short skirt… And what the hell is up with the fishnets?'_

Thankfully, Naruto was spared embarrassment. She was wearing a tan trench coat over her figure, obscuring what was quite obvious.

"Are you eyeing me?" she asked sweetly, the smile still plastered on her face.

Naruto gulped. His senses were going crazy at this point, all of them pointing towards danger.

"Look, I'm sorry I knocked you over, but I was in a hurry!" he said as he slowly backed up.

Anko looked confused, a sweet innocent confused expression. She looked around the empty clearing.

"I can see that! It's so busy out here! What exactly did you need to do!? Because, there seems to be so much to do out here!"

Naruto gulped again, his heart racing. "T…training. I need to get stronger."

"Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise. "You're a Shinobi! Well, so am I!"

Naruto nodded. "I can see that ma'am."

"Please, call me Anko!" she said, the innocent smile back on her face.

'_She's messing with me!'_ Naruto screamed in his mind, fear clawing at his heart.

"I'm guessing you're a Jonin" Naruto said, as his hand reached for his kunai pouch.

"What gave me away?" she asked as she tilted her head.

Naruto grinned. "The fact that you caught up with me is a good indication, or when you caught my kunai."

"Then," Anko began as her smile faltered. "Let's get down to business!"

Naruto sprang into action first, aiming a kunai at her head, only for it to be deflected by his kunai that Anko had caught earlier.

Naruto formed five Kage Bunshin and went into action.

'_May as well see how well I fight without weights!'_

Pushing himself as fast as he could go, he charged Anko who had jumped up onto a branch.

Anko narrowed her eyes at the charging Genin.

'_Solid clones huh? Interesting to say the least… I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this Genin!'_

Faster than Naruto could follow, she launched a barrage of shuriken which dispelled the attacking Bunshin. However, Naruto had gotten behind her and was aiming his punch at the back of her head.

'_I'm not a Jonin for nothing…'_ she thought to herself. Spinning around, she pushed Naruto's arm out of the way and aimed a palm strike at Naruto's chest. She struck to find that he had preformed a Kawarimi.

"That was fast for a Genin" she said loud enough for Naruto to hear her across the clearing."

Then, Anko disappeared from Naruto's sight. His eyes widened as he knew her next move. Naruto jumped off of the branch just as it exploded.

'_Shit! This bitch is trying to kill me!'_ She reappeared just above Naruto, another palm strike aimed at Naruto's back.

Naruto felt a huge flash of pain as she struck hard and without mercy. He plummeted to the ground and bounced off of the hard earth.

He rolled to his feet, kunai flying towards his target already as he preformed his hand seals.

Anko narrowed her eyes as she used her speed to charge up to Naruto as he inhaled while striking the Tiger hand seal. Before Naruto knew what was happening, he was pinned to a tree, a kunai in his right arm.

:ARRRRRRRGH!!!" he screamed out in pain.

Anko glared at him. "SHUT IT BRAT! I WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS IF YOU WEREN'T TRYING TO USE JUTSU!"

Naruto gritted his teeth as Anko got nose to nose with him.

"I fucking hate you Genin. A bunch of whiney snot nosed brats!"

Naruto glared at her. "Fuck you…" With that said, he head butted her as hard as he could.

Anko felt her nose break as she lost her concentration and fell to the ground.

'_Fuck! That was unexpected!'_ She leaped back up; a second after she hit the ground to find that she was surrounded by more Kage Bunshin.

Anko wiped the blood pouring from her nose onto her sleeve. "You're going to pay for that Gaki!"

* * *

Naruto charged through the forest. '_It should take her at least a minute or so to find out that they're all Kage Bunshin and that I'm long gone!'_

He jumped from tree to tree, thankful that he was getting used to the speed already.

'_At least I've got a head start on psychobitch back there!'_

Suddenly, he received the memories of his last Kage Bunshin.

'_FUCK! Already!? It's only been thirty seconds!!!!'_ He pumped chakra into his legs to increase his speed, knowing that she was already gaining on him.

He saw the lights from the village buildings and hoped onto the nearest roof and took off from there.

Panting Naruto knew to not stop until he was in a safe location.

'_Can't go home, or she'll find out where I live. Dammit I wish I could just split up into… Oh my god I am so fucking dumb!!!'_

Forming the sign that signified his signature move, he created fifty more Bunshin.

"Scatter!" he ordered.

* * *

Anko watched from a far. "Kid's got spunk! But that won't be enough to save him from me…" She made the cross seal and created five Kage Bunshin of herself who then disguised themselves as Naruto.

"Hunting time…" they all said with a malicious grin on their faces.

They all took off at tremendous speeds, hunting down each Bunshin of Naruto's.

'_It'll be hard for him to distinguish which are his, and which are mine…'_ she thought as she watched the commotion ensue.

* * *

Naruto was panicking at this point. '_She's disguising herself as my own Bunshin. Shit!'_

Naruto had been assaulted by his Bunshin's memories, all of them depicting another of his Bunshin attacking them.

'_Just great…'_ Naruto thought as he spotted a Bunshin nearby and impaling it with a shuriken. It dispelled and revealed that it was one of his own.

'_Dammit…'_

He looked around as he continued through the city. People looked on in confusion at all the Naruto's running around.

Naruto glanced up at the Hokage Tower and felt suddenly relieved.

'_Jii-san can help me!'_ He then bolted for the large red building.

* * *

Anko smiled as one of her Bunshin dispelled itself.

'_Hokage Tower… Gotcha!'_

Anko disappeared in a Shunshin, her smile not fading one bit.

* * *

Naruto burst through the door to the Hokage's office just as he felt her presence behind him.

"SHIT!" he exclaimed as she pinned him up against a wall, kunai pressed up on his neck.

"ANKO, NARUTO!!! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" The Sandaime yelled as he stood up; pipe in hand, papers littering the floor.

It seemed that the two of them had interrupted some paperwork.

Anko opened her mouth to speak but Naruto beat her to the punch.

"THIS CRAZY BITCH IS TRYING TO FUCKING KILL ME FOR NO DAMN REASON!!!"

"Naruto! Anko is one of the finest Kunoichi in this village!" the Hokage reprimanded.

"Yeah? WELL SHE'S STILL CRAZY!!! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!"

Anko smiled over at the Hokage sweetly, causing the old man to sigh.

"Anko, please release Naruto-kun…" he said tiredly.

She glanced back at the boy she had pinned, as if considering killing him then and there. Finally, to Naruto's relief, she dropped him and stowed her kunai in her jacket.

"Thanks for the exercise kid, maybe we can do it again sometime?" she suggested with a wink.

Naruto simply glared at her as he brushed dirt off of his clothes.

'_What kind of psycho is she?'_ he wondered as she bowed to the Hokage and walked out of the room.

The Sandaime shook his head and turned to the blonde Genin in his office.

"Naruto, I would suggest you don't antagonize Anko. She's a very temperamental individual."

Naruto glared at the closed door that Anko had exited. "Yeah, sure…" Without another word, Naruto walked to one of the windows that happened to be open.

"I'll see you around Jii-san…" That said, Naruto jumped out of the window, landed in the street, and took off at high speeds to finally start his training for the day.

The Sandaime watched thoughtfully before speaking.

"How do you think Naruto faired against Anko?" he asked.

A voice belonging to a silver haired Jonin answered him. "To be honest, I've learned to not be surprised by our maverick Shinobi… Since the bell test I've been keeping a close eye on him just like you asked me to. His training is yielding some interesting results to say the least."

The Sandaime nodded. "Any sign of him tapping into the Kyubi's chakra?" he asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "Not yet, but his temper is still flaring up frequently. Haruno Sakura seems to trigger these outbursts, but I think that there's nothing to worry about it. After all, he is sensei's son."

"Yes" Sarutobi Hiruzen said. "He really is Minato's son…"

* * *

Naruto sighed as he continued pulling weeds from the soft dirt below him.

He glanced over to his left to see that his squad mates were still suffering a similar fate.

'_These missions are absolutely pointless!' _thought the young blonde Genin.

He continued pulling weed after weed as the sun beat down on him. His knees were aching from crawling around the large yard, keeping an eye out for more of the pests.

He wiped his forehead, freeing it of sweat for the moment when he heard a poof behind him.

He turned to see his sensei standing near him.

"Good work Squad seven… seems like our work is done" Kakashi declared as he continued to read Make-out paradise as usual.

Naruto smiled to himself. '_Another worthless mission, completed!'_

He pushed himself up, feeling the weights he wore attempting to keep him down.

Popping his neck, he walked to his teacher to ask him a question.

Kakashi noticed him walking towards him and closed his book with a snap.

"Something wrong Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto hesitated as he stopped in front of his teacher.

"Well, I was just wondering why we don't do much training and we continue to do these worthless missions…" he mumbled.

'_Well, he certainly is maturing… in a sense.'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"Naruto, these missions are quite important to the village. It's more of a profit to accept these missions rather than turn them down and wait for higher ranked ones."

Naruto groaned. "You've told me that before Kakashi-sensei, but you never tell us why we never train together! You haven't really taught us anything!"

Kakashi was silent for a moment before smiling at the Genin.

"These missions are for training Naruto. They help train our teamwork."

Naruto stared blankly at the silver haired Jonin. '_…There are other ways as well though…'_ he thought to himself.

Sasuke and Sakura had listened to the entire conversation, opting to stay quite and listen to Kakashi's answer.

"Well, let's get going to the Hokage, shall we?" Kakashi said lazily as he reopened his book and began to walk away.

Naruto and the others followed him, each of them complaining silently to themselves.

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke who seemed to be brooding as always.

'_I could try asking him to be a sparring partner, but he's such a jerk!!!'_

Naruto then glanced at Sakura who had been spending half of the mission glaring at him, while the other half was spent trying to talk to Sasuke.

'_Sakura's too much of a hassle to even attempt thinking of asking… Guess I'll keep working with Gai-sensei and Lee.'_

Naruto saw something dart past them and groaned upon recognizing it.

'_Nooo!!! Tora escaped again… Man, if we get another mission where we have to capture that fur ball, I'll fucking kill it!!!'_

Sasuke was thinking among the same lines, having seen it dart past them. He had even considered throwing a Kunai after it to save them future missions.

They reached the Hokage tower quickly and went inside. They navigated through the many hallways until they reached the room where they were to report for missions.

Kakashi opened the door to reveal the large room, where at one end was a large table where three figures sat.

Naruto knew the first two quite personally. Umino Iruka and Sarutobi Hiruzen were discussing something with the third man whom Naruto couldn't even recall the name of. Not that he cared in the first place.

"Squad seven reporting the mission as a success" Kakashi announced, his book having disappeared since they had entered.

The Sandaime Hokage looked over and nodded, while smiling at Naruto.

He jotted something down and returned his gaze to Kakashi.

"Well, since it is the end of the day, I'll have to ask you to return tomorrow for more missions, however, I would like a word with Naruto and you, Kakashi…"

Sakura looked slightly confused and was about to say something when she noticed that the Sandaime's face had lost any semblance of a smile and was replaced with a look of an extremely tired man.

She looked over at Kakashi to see that his expression was unreadable as always.

She didn't bother looking at her blonde teammate and decided to bow to the Hokage, and follow an indifferent Sasuke out the door.

Once the door was closed, the Sandaime Hokage stood up and walked around the table.

Kakashi led Naruto towards the Hokage and met in the middle of the room.

"Naruto, I wished to speak with you and your sensei privately about your tenant. I would prefer to continue to my office, if that is ok with the two of you…"

Kakashi nodded, while Naruto seemed slightly alarmed.

"It's nothing horrible Naruto, don't worry" Kakashi assured him.

Naruto slowly nodded as well and the Sandaime smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Hiruzen walked out the front door and started towards his office. Naruto followed right behind him while Kakashi held back for a moment when he noticed that his other two students were waiting for them.

"We're done for the day, so you two can head on home now."

He walked past them with a wave.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at their behavior. "That's weird, why does the Hokage want to talk to those two alone?" she asked.

Sasuke shrugged as he turned around and walked away, intending on training with the remaining daylight.

Sakura sighed. '_Sasuke still doesn't talk to me… What am I doing wrong?'_

She walked down the same hall Sasuke had just seconds before, planning on heading home to prepare for the next day full of worthless tasks.

* * *

Kakashi closed the door behind him and turned towards the Hokage.

Hiruzen sat down as he extracted his pipe from his robes and quickly lit the contents.

Tobacco permeated the air around them and Naruto wrinkled his nose slightly. The Hokage gestured for Naruto to sit across from him which he did.

"The reason I wanted to speak to you Naruto, is that lately you have been getting more aggressive. Surely you have noticed this as well."

Naruto nodded. "What does that have to do with the Kyubi?" he asked.

The Sandaime sucked on the pipe, inhaling the tobacco, filling his lungs with it.

He breathed out the smoke, causing the smell of tobacco to intensify.

"The Kyubi's chakra seems to be seeping out slightly whenever you feel intense emotions, in these instances, anger. We believe that you may be able to start accessing the demon's chakra soon."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What are we going to do?!" he yelled out as he stood up.

"Nothing…" said the aged Hokage.

"W… What? But this isn't good, is it?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi picked up at this point.

"Naruto, as you know, you are a Jinchuriki… Although, you were not created as most Jinchuriki are. In fact, your seal is unique, so we don't know if it was designed to allow you access to the Kyubi, but I'm sure that we can safely assume this."

"Jinchuriki are usually created to serve one specific purpose… To be a weapon for their village… You on the other hand, were given a demon to protect the village, not to become its weapon… well, not in that sense that is."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. "In that sense?" he asked.

Kakashi's eye bore into Naruto's. "Ninja's are usually seen as weapons for their respective nations. That is what we are and it is a difficult truth."

Naruto was about to reply when the Sandaime Hokage spoke up.

"Now is not the time for philosophies… I felt, that you should know what is happening to you Naruto, to better prepare you for the coming day. That is why I have told you."

Naruto sat in silence as the Hokage and his Jonin instructor watched him carefully.

'_So, I'll be able to use the Kyubi's chakra?'_

"I'm not sure what that means though…" Naruto spoke up after several minutes of silence. "What's the benefit of being able to use his chakra when I can just use mine?"

The Sandaime inhaled more of the smoke from his pipe before answering.

"Demonic chakra is much more potent than our own Naruto… It was said that the Kyubi no Kitsune could cause landslides and Tsunami's by merely waving it's tails. That is the type of power you will be accessing, however I doubt you'll be able to get that amount of power."

Realization dawned on Naruto.

"But, I will be stronger?" he asked for confirmation.

The Sandaime nodded. "There have been Jinchuriki before and it is said that everything from speed, to power, even Jutsu, are amplified thanks to the power of the Biju contained within."

"What about the risks involved?" Naruto asked quickly.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, curious about why he had asked such a question.

Naruto shook his head. "I can't believe that power like that doesn't have a draw back… I mean, take the chakra gates for example. Opening one grants amazing strength, but it takes a toll on the muscles. I'm sure there's a draw back to using demonic chakra."

Kakashi and the Sandaime both smiled at Naruto's reasoning.

"That, Naruto, is indeed a great observation and a wise question."

Naruto's shock appeared on his face, but turned quickly into happiness.

The Sandaime took a moment to look at the boy. He had definitely changed in the month he had been with Squad seven.

"While demonic chakra does give you amazing abilities, it does indeed have drawbacks. Humans aren't demons, and their bodies tire quickly using demonic chakra. It's like a slow acting poison, which is why having a Jinchuriki could be a risk. But, I trust in you to know when to not use the Kyubi's chakra… You are the son of the Yondaime Hokage after all."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks Jii-san."

The Sandaime Hokage chuckled at the young blonde. "On another note, Kakashi and I have been observing some of your training, and I must say that we are both impressed at your progress. You've learned quite a few Jutsu since joining the squad Naruto."

Naruto was shocked. '_I never sensed anyone watching me other than Shikamaru that one time, but I lost him.'_

Kakashi chuckled at the look on the blonde's face.

"Don't worry Naruto, there's a good reason why you didn't detect us. But for now, just put that at the back of your mind."

Naruto nodded slowly, wondering how they could have been watching him all this time.

'_How much did they see?'_ he wondered.

"Naruto, I look forward to hearing about how well you used your Jutsu when you get back from your next mission" the Hokage said.

This brought Naruto's attention back to the present as he had been lingering on possibilities of why he had never sensed the two.

Naruto scowled for a moment.

"What seems to be the matter Naruto?" The Sandaime asked, fully aware of what was on the blonde's mind.

"How the hell am I supposed to use Jutsu on the missions we've been going on? Tracking down a cat, weeding a garden, delivering dog food and groceries…" Naruto grumbled as he squinted in anger at the Hokage.

Kakashi chuckled at this as Naruto rounded on his sensei, eyes blazing with childish anger.

Kakashi waved his hand, "Sorry, just remembered something from Icha Icha Paradise."

Naruto stared at him for a moment, his bottom lip sticking out in a thoughtful pout as Sarutobi spoke up.

"Well, if you feel that these missions are far too easy, then I can always assign you a more challenging mission."

Naruto looked at the Hokage, the words still processing in his mind. Finally, realization dawned on him and his face lit up with gleeful joy.

"Really? No more painfully boring and redundant 'D' ranked missions!?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sarutobi and Kakashi both knew that Naruto had been studying on certain things, but hearing him use more 'difficult' words as Naruto had once put it, was astonishing to both of them and showed them even more just how far along Naruto had come.

"Y…yes Naruto-kun. Tomorrow you and your squad shall receive a 'C' ranked mission."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask as Naruto began bouncing around the room.

'_Still a ball of energy.'_ He thought to himself as his copy of Icha Icha Paradise appeared in his hand. '_Now where exactly was I?'_ he wondered as he disappeared in a Shunshin.

Naruto noticed Kakashi leaving and settled down a bit, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Naruto, this may only be a 'C' ranked mission that I'm giving you, but please, be careful out there" the Hokage asked in worried tone.

Naruto gave the Hokage a thumbs up. "Don't worry about me Jii-san! I can't die until after I've become the best Hokage ever!"

Without waiting for a response from the old man, Naruto ran out of the room, Sarutobi knowing that Naruto was off to train yet again.

* * *

Naruto yawned as he walked through the village gates the next morning.

'_Well, training is done for the majority of the day… Guess I should go wait for Kakashi-sensei and the others…'_ he thought to himself as he walked up the main road in the village.

He continued onward until he realized what was just a few blocks away from where he currently was.

"ICHIRAKU'S!!!" He cried out in realization. Faster than most villagers could see, Naruto bolted for his beloved ramen stand.

Unfortunately for the blonde haired Genin, the ramen stand hadn't opened.

Naruto pouted as he stared at the small ramen stand, wishing to any kind of god that the shop would open then and there with the days first batch of ramen ready.

"Naruto…" a voice greeted from behind him. Naruto turned quickly, his instincts gripping him as his left hand went for his kunai holster. He relaxed when he found that it was his team mate Sasuke.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked in an irritated tone.

Sasuke considered him for a moment, eyeing Naruto's kunai holster with disdain.

"Walk with me…" he said as he proceed down the street.

Naruto watched him walk past; wondering why on earth Uchiha Sasuke would want to speak with Uzumaki Naruto. Shrugging it off, he followed his raven haired team mate.

* * *

Sasuke had been intrigued by the enigma that was Naruto. Sure, back in the academy, Uzumaki Naruto was nothing more than a class clown that couldn't even perform a basic Henge without it turning into a prank.

Hell, he had failed the final exam at least three times from what Sasuke had heard. Then, he had seen him on the bell test. Naruto had changed from a bumbling idiot to a half decent Shinobi. Sure, he hadn't gotten as close to the bells as Sasuke had, but Naruto had some tricks up his sleeve that had caught a Jonin off guard.

He had preformed an interesting Suiton Jutsu that Sasuke had heard of from Itachi when he was a child. It wasn't a legendary 'S' ranked Jutsu, but the fact that Naruto had preformed it so easily was surprising. He must have learned it quite recently as well as Naruto wasn't one to keep a secret. Sasuke remembered how whenever Naruto had learnt something in the academy, he would flaunt it as much as possible.

So, knowing that Naruto was a decent enough team mate, Sasuke had come to a decision.

Sasuke needed to get stronger and Naruto was obviously getting stronger quickly.

* * *

"Naruto… I have a question for you." Sasuke spoke as he kept ahead of Naruto.

Naruto grunted, letting Sasuke know that he was listening.

"I noticed that you've gotten better, and I was thinking that maybe we could train together… See each others training styles."

Naruto stopped walking, knowing exactly what Sasuke was after.

He remembered reading a book about the clan Sasuke was from and it didn't exactly put them in a positive light.

'_He just wants to copy any Jutsu I show him and my Taijutsu style! Fucking Uchiha!!!_

The book that Naruto had read had gone into specific detail about the Uchiha clan's Sharingan Doujutsu and how it would copy Jutsu of any type.

"Sasuke… Fuck you. I know about your Sharingan eye and I don't feel like having my techniques stolen and possibly used against me, so, I say, go fuck your self you bastard!"

Before Sasuke could inform him of his lack of Sharingan, Naruto had already taken to the buildings.

'_That is the last fucking time I try to actually be nice to that Dobe…'_ Sasuke thought as he glared after the blonde. '_I just wanted to make sure that at least one of my team mates wouldn't hold me back, and there is no way in hell I'm asking Sakura… hmph…'_

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he continued on his aimless path to kill time before he had to go to squad seven's meeting place.

* * *

Sakura yawned as she woke up that morning, her thoughts all on Sasuke.

That is until she looked out her window to see Naruto standing on the roof talking to someone who seemed to be out of sight at the moment.

'…_FUCKING STALKER NARUTO!!!'_ she screamed mentally. She grabbed her kunai holster off of her chair and withdrew one of the throwing knives. Opening her window, she could hear Naruto's voice as well as the voice of another male who seemed unbelievably loud.

"…AND LET THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY NARUTO-KUN!!!" the voice yelled. Before Sakura could locate the voice's origin, she heard the sounds of a Shunshin Jutsu being preformed.

Her attention refocused on Naruto who had just caught sight of Sakura.

"What do you want Naruto?!" Sakura asked in a violent tone of voice.

Naruto glared and looked at the house she was leaning out of.

"So this is where you live… Interesting…"

Sakura glared at the venom in Naruto's voice but knew better than to antagonize him any further.

"Since you're here, maybe you'd like to know that we have a 'C' ranked mission today" Naruto said as he turned away from her and disappeared, hoping from roof to roof.

Naruto gritted his teeth as the anger seemed to be burning in his gut.

'_What the hell is it with me? Whenever she even talks I get so angry! If I ever did love her, that love has transformed into hatred… ugh… why won't the burning stop?'_

His hand went to his stomach, as if to find something there, but all he felt was a shirt over an unblemished stomach.

Shaking his head, he continued towards the training grounds to wait for the next few hours if Kakashi's current record was any indication.

* * *

Naruto continued to play with his kunai as he sat in a tree away from his two other teammates. He continued to receive glares from the two of them and continued to ignore them both, keeping all of his focus on his kunai.

He sensed Kakashi approaching and smirked. '_I doubt it'll do anything, but it'll be a… warm… welcome.'_

He waited a few more seconds before springing into action.

He jumped up onto a higher branch before pouring his chakra into his legs to assist with the next jump. He pushed off the branch, rocketing into the sky, kunai in hand. Once he got through the foliage, he threw the kunai at the just emerged Kakashi.

Kakashi merely caught the kunai on his index finger, no indication of surprise at all.

"Good morning Naruto… Excited for our next mission?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto landed on the ground softly and crossed his arms.

"You could say that Kakashi-sensei" he said with a grin.

Kakashi analyzed Naruto's demeanor for a moment before nodding.

'_It seems that he had a run in with the rest of our squad earlier… He already seems fatigued meaning he had a brief spurt of anger resulting in a miniscule amount of chakra from his prisoner to run through his system…'_

"Well, today is a special day for the three of you! I just returned from the mission hall and we have received our first 'C' ranked mission together!" Kakashi said enthusiastically, his eye curving into what they had come to know as him smiling.

Sakura's eyes widened when she realized that what Naruto had said earlier today had been true.

"What's the mission?" Naruto asked.

"We are to protect a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna from Nami no Kuni."

Sasuke nodded, satisfied that he finally would have a mission that didn't involve weeding or babysitting.

Sakura grinned, her thoughts mirroring Sasuke's and a few other thoughts involving said Genin.

Naruto stared at Kakashi before speaking. "So it's an escort and protect mission?" he asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes! From what Tazuna-san told me, we will be protecting him from possible bandits and such until his bridge is completed."

"Bridge?" Sakura inquired.

"Yes Sakura, a bridge. It seems that Tazuna is a bridge builder and is currently constructing a bridge connecting Nami no Kuni to the Land of Fire. So, I want you to run to your homes and gather the supplies required for a 'C' ranked mission… I assume that the academy taught you what to take on this type of mission?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke and Sakura nodded, Naruto however, did not.

Noticing this, Kakashi made a note to talk to Naruto to see what else he may be lacking from the academy.

"Excellent, I will meet you at the eastern gate in one hour!" Sasuke and Sakura turned to leave but Naruto walked straight up to Kakashi.

'_There is no pride lost in asking for crucial information… there is no pride lost in asking for crucial information…'_ Naruto recited in his head over and over.

"I'm guessing you slept through that particular class, right?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I think I may have skipped that day actually…" he said as he suppressed a glare.

Kakashi shrugged. "Food, water, kunai, shuriken, a few scrolls, camping gear… It isn't much and we are only going on a 'C' rank… Try to pack as light as possible though." Kakashi's eyes traveled to the bracers that Naruto was wearing under his clothes.

"I'm not taking off my weights, after all, it's only a 'C' ranked mission" Naruto said.

Kakashi chuckled. "Caught me in my own trap… You are maturing!" he said in mock surprise.

"One hour, eastern gate…" Naruto said as he took off at high speeds.

Kakashi stood there, watching as Naruto jumped into the trees and increased his speed.

"You're on your way to making him proud…" Kakashi then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Naruto had gotten off on the wrong foot when he had met Tazuna the bridge builder.

First off, he had insulted the blonde by asking if the team was a joke or if he was expected to leave his life in their hands. A kunai through his hat had quickly quieted the old man followed by a glare usually reserved for Sasuke.

The following three hours were full of awkward silences and palpable tension between everyone save for Kakashi.

'_Well… This is interesting to say the least…'_ Kakashi thought from behind his orange book. He continued to read it, unperturbed when he noticed a puddle in the middle of the road.

Naruto saw the puddle as well, and thought nothing of it at first until it struck him how warm it was outside.

'_It hasn't rained in a while, and it's got to be at least 80 degrees right now… So why the hell is there a puddle here?'_ Naruto looked back at Kakashi who seemed to be relaxed and enjoying his book still.

'_Well, if Kakashi-sensei hasn't noticed anything strange, then it's probably nothing…'_

They group continued on, unaware of two figures rising silently from the puddle.

'_Now!'_ one of them thought. As if signaled, one of the men launched the other towards the leader of the group… Kakashi.

Hearing the clinking of some sort of chain, Naruto and Sasuke reacted quickly. They grabbed Tazuna and threw him to the ground while pivoting just in time to see shuriken chain wrap around their sensei.

"KAKASHI!!!" Naruto yelled wide eyed as the silver haired Jonin was torn to shreds by the two near identical men with breathing apparatuses covering a majority of their faces.

"One down…" one of them muttered.

"Fuck…" Naruto breathed as he withdrew a kunai. "Sasuke… Take care of the old man, I've got this!" Before Sasuke could argue, Naruto had taken off towards the two men.

'_Time to see if I can actually fight enemy Shinobi!'_ Naruto thought to himself. He threw a kunai at the one to his left and jumped into the air only to be impaled by a flurry of shuriken from the man on the right.

Naruto disappeared in a plum of smoke revealing that he had preformed a Kawarimi.

The two men rocketed towards Sasuke, who was currently guarding a scared Sakura and Tazuna.

"Oh no you don't!!!" Naruto's voice rang out.

One moment, the path towards their kill was clear, the next moment, Naruto had just planted his foot in one's face while his hand had found it's way around the other's throat.

Meizu, the one whose throat was being handled by Naruto, widened his eye in surprise before being thrown to the ground.

Gouzu recovered and tried to jump back only to find that he was still chained to his brother.

'_Fucking brat!'_ he thought as he released the chain and positioned his poisoned claw to tear through the blonde Genin. He didn't get the chance however as everything suddenly went dark for him and he was met with blissful unconsciousness.

Naruto glared at Kakashi who had just taken his first chance at a real fight.

'_Well… At least he didn't die…'_ Naruto exhaled, glad that he hadn't lost his first real teacher other than Iruka who treated him properly.

"Good job Sasuke, Naruto… Although, next time I wouldn't just charge in like that, just in case they're stronger than you realize."

Naruto nodded, knowing not to disregard Kakashi's advice.

"We thought you died!" Tazuna yelled as he stood up shakily. "Why did you have us believe you were killed by those two?!"

Kakashi glanced at Tazuna before disappearing and knocking out the remaining brother who was still under Naruto's grip. Naruto released him when he saw what Kakashi had done.

"First off, I wanted to see how my team would react in the event of my 'death'… Secondly, I wanted to find out who they were targeting. Were they targeting one of us ninja, or someone else?" At this, Kakashi glared at Tazuna.

"It was quite clear who their target was Tazuna-san, and I recall this being a 'C' ranked mission which did not involve enemy Shinobi."

Tazuna gulped and Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You withheld information didn't you?" he asked the old man.

Tazuna sighed. "Yes… I did lie when I requested this mission…"

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because, the cost of a higher ranked mission would have been too much for our village… We're a poor nation and this bridge would help our economy immensely!"

Kakashi glared down at the old man. "You may as well explain what is going on then."

Tazuna nodded. "Yes, well… you see, a very powerful man wants me dead. It's because I'm building the bridge! It will damage the hold he has over us all."

"Who is this man?" Sasuke asked as he glanced at the two downed Shinobi.

"His name… is Gato…"

Kakashi's visible eye widened as did Sasuke's.

"Gato?! The billionaire that specializes in importing?"

Tazuna nodded. "The same… He came to Nami no Kuni under the guise of an innocent businessman, looking to help us all. But, when he got a hold on us, he sucked us dry of all of our resources. He controls what goes in and out of Nami no Kuni as it's a small island, surrounded by nothing by the sea."

Kakashi nodded, understanding what was going on. "So, this Gato feels threatened by you and the bridge because it will basically mean that he has no hold over any of you?" Sasuke asked.

Tazuna nodded.

Kakashi sighed at this point. "If you had told us the entire story, this would be classified as an 'A' ranked mission… I should go back to Konoha and report this…"

Tazuna whimpered slightly at this.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said loudly.

"What is it Naruto?" Kakashi asked, turning towards his student, knowing full well what he was about to suggest.

"I say we continue with this mission… Sure he withheld information that could have gotten us killed, but we did eventually find out all of the facts, and I believe that our squad is capable of handling this mission!"

Sasuke nodded as he walked over to Naruto. "I agree" he said simply, his hands in his pockets.

Kakashi chuckled. "What about you Sakura? Do you believe as these two do that you're all ready for this type of mission?"

He looked at the pink haired Genin who seemed to be fighting a inner battle. Finally, she answered in a slightly shaky voice.

"Y…yes… I believe that we can protect Tazuna on this mission…."

Kakashi nodded. "Well, I guess it's three against one. Tazuna-san, you're in luck!"

"T…thank you so much!" Tazuna said, as he felt his eyes well up slightly.

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mention it! We should get on our way!"

Kakashi quickly tied the two demon brothers using ninja wire and sent a signal for ANBU to pick them up.

"Well, with that handled, let's continue, no?"

Naruto grinned and took the lead, seemingly back to his old carefree self.

However, Kakashi could tell that he was thinking the same thing that he was.

'_Those two Shinobi were the first wave… The next attack will carry a more experienced and more powerful ninja…'_

They continued on for a few more hours until the air seemed to moisten. Kakashi smiled at this, knowing that they were close to where they would stop walking and continue on in a boat.

Naruto had never seen the sea before, and even though there was a lot of mist, he was excited.

He tried not to show the others, trying to be a 'proper' Shinobi, but it wasn't really his style.

"Wow… So this is the ocean?" he asked in awe.

Tazuna chuckled at this. "This is nothing! If it weren't for the mist, you'd be able to see Nami no Kuni from here no problem! Now, when we get to Nami no Kuni, you need to go to one of the beaches that don't have a problem with mist! The sea is vast and stretches farther than you can imagine."

Naruto had heard of the sea before in stories and such, but he didn't really give it much thought.

'_Well, I'll believe it when I see it…'_

Still, he was impressed none the less at the mere feeling of being near so much water.

In the distance, they heard an engine rumbling.

"That would be my associate here to pick us up" Tazuna said as he squinted, trying to see through the light mist.

They continued onwards along the small beach that they had arrived at until they found a small boat just barely big enough for the man driving it, squad seven, and Tazuna.

Naruto said nothing as Tazuna greeted the man as an old acquaintance would as he looked back at the forest, wondering when the next ambush would be.

* * *

Zabuza glared at the short man that had hired him.

'_The fool… If he continues his attempts to intimidate me, I may just kill him and be on my way…'_

Gato was currently berating him for sending the demon brothers after the bridge builder. Apparently, Meizu and Gouzu had failed to kill the old man and had been apprehended.

'_So, the bridge builder hired Shinobi for protection…'_ Zabuza thought to himself as he grasped his large sword he had received when he had become one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shū.

With speed and strength that had claimed countless lives, he swung the sword so that the tip was a hairsbreadth away from Gato's forehead.

"Quit your complaining… I, Momochi Zabuza, Kirigakure no Kijin, shall deal with these Shinobi that Tazuna has hired…"

Zabuza smirked at Gato who looked ready to soil himself. "G…good! That's what I like to hear!" he said as he stepped back. The two samurai behind him had their hands on their Katanas, however, they looked unsure and intimidated thanks to Zabuza.

"See to it that he is killed!" Gato ordered as he attempted to regain his composure. With that said, he turned heel and stalked out of the room, his guards following him quickly.

Zabuza got to his feet and popped his neck as he shouldered his blade.

"Let's see what these Shinobi have to offer…"

* * *

Naruto grumbled to himself as his stomach seemed to growl at him.

'_Wish Ichiraku's had been open when I dropped by… It would have been nice to have some ramen before this mission started… I haven't eaten since I woke up before training…'_

His stomach rumbled again, causing him to grit his teeth in annoyance.

He looked back at the other four to see that Sakura was speaking to Tazuna about his country while Sasuke seemed to be brooding, which was nothing new.

Kakashi however, something seemed off with him.

Sure, his book was out, but Kakashi's eyes weren't even on it. In fact, they seemed to be darting here and there, as if searching for something. His posture wasn't relaxed as it normally was, it was tense, as if expecting someone to attack at a moments notice.

Naruto slowed down a bit until he was side by side with his sensei.

"I'm guessing you figured it out as well?" Kakashi asked in a low voice, without looking at his blonde student.

"That those two weren't the last? I figured that if this guy really wants Tazuna dead, then he'd have more goons coming after him. Plus, if he's rich enough, he could probably afford some strong Shinobi…"

Kakashi nodded. "Good reasoning… Sasuke seems to have assumed the same."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. '_…He's brooding… He's always fucking brooding. How can Kakashi tell any difference in Sasuke?'_

Naruto continued to stare at his team mate's back until he noticed something.

Sasuke didn't have his hands in his pockets. His right hand was actually hovering right above his kunai holster, ready to pluck one out without hesitation.

'_Oh… Guess that's a difference…Good idea though.'_ Naruto admitted to himself.

"So what do we do if we are attacked?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Guard Tazuna… It's very likely that the next Shinobi will be a Jonin like myself… You three wouldn't stand a chance against a Jonin Shinobi."

Naruto grunted. '_I beg to differ…'_

"For now, just keep your senses keen…"

Naruto nodded at this advice and sped up a bit to get back at the head of the group.

A few more hours passed of them just walking when Naruto sensed movement in the bushes to his left.

Reacting quicker than even he expected, he let loose a flurry of shuriken and waited with baited breath.

'_Did I get them?'_

Sakura had jumped back in fright and was fumbling to withdraw a kunai while Sasuke had two kunai, one in each hand while Kakashi had simply stopped walking.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR YOU BRAT?!" Tazuna yelled as he pointed at Naruto. "YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!!!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he slowly approached the bush and withdrew a kunai. Kakashi followed him as he parted the bushes to reveal…

"A rabbit…" Naruto mumbled… "A fucking rabbit???" He looked down at a little white rabbit that seemed to have fainted out of fear.

Naruto felt his temper flare. '_WHAT THE HELL!?!?! I FREAKED OUT OVER A GODDAMN RABBIT!?'_

Kakashi however narrowed his eyes as he stared at the rabbit.

'_That's a snow hare… It's coat should be brown right now, not white… It's been kept as a pet… Probably used for a Kawarimi…'_

Sakura had gone to the bush and was consoling the small rodent when he heard it. It was low at first but was approaching fast.

"GET DOWN!" Kakashi yelled.

Sasuke threw Tazuna and himself to the ground while Naruto shoved Sakura down while throwing himself down as well.

Kakashi dropped down just as a large cleaver like sword sliced through the air and imbedded itself in a tree not far from him.

Kakashi jumped up to find that a muscular man stood on the handle of the sword, looking down at them over his shoulder.

"Momochi Zabuza…" Kakashi breathed.

Zabuza's eyes focused on Kakashi. "Sharingan no Kakashi…"

Sasuke and Naruto glanced from Zabuza to Kakashi when they heard their sensei's alias.

'_Sharingan?' _Naruto wondered. '_I thought Kakashi wasn't an Uchiha...'_

'_The Sharingan is exclusive to the Uchiha clan! What the hell are they talking about?' _thought Sasuke.

Kakashi got into a defensive fighting stance as he raised his Hitai-ate to reveal his eye… His red Sharingan eye.

Naruto and Sasuke widened their eyes when they saw this.

'_So that's what the Sharingan looks like…'_ Naruto thought in amazement. '_…cool…'_

"Heh… So that's the Sharingan eye… It truly is an honor to face it in combat… But couldn't you just hand over the old man? You see, I've been sent to kill him and it would be a shame to kill a Shinobi such as yourself."

Kakashi answered by withdrawing a kunai.

Laughing Zabuza shook his head. '_I knew that wouldn't work, but it was worth a try…'_

Zabuza and his sword disappeared in a display of superior speed. Kakashi turned quickly to look at the ocean to his left where Zabuza was stood.

'_Dammit… He's got a fair amount of chakra built up…'_

Zabuza grinned as he went through the hand seals for his personal favorite Jutsu.

"**Kirigakure no Jutsu**" Zabuza grinned as the mist already hanging in the air seemed to thicken.

Kakashi tightened his grip on his kunai.  
"Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered his three Genin.

Naruto had already taken up position in front of Tazuna, a kunai in one hand, his other hand flexing constantly in anticipation.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly joined the blonde when the order was given, both of them with kunai in hand.

Suddenly, Zabuza's voice floated towards them through the mist.

"There are eight targets… Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart… Which should I go after first?"

Kakashi brought his hands together in the sign of the ram as killer intent flooded the area.

Sasuke and Naruto were hit hardest, their hands shaking.

'_This…this is the end…' _Sasuke thought. '_I can't handle this… It's too much. This is the true power of a Jonin… I just want to end it all to be rid of this feeling.'_

Naruto wasn't fairing much better. '_How can they be doing this? I want to die just to get out of here… This…this is what a true Shinobi can do… amazing.'_

"Sasuke, Naruto… Don't worry…" Kakashi said. "No matter what, I'll protect you, even if it kills me. I won't ever let, my comrades die."

Naruto and Sasuke both visibly relaxed at the soothing words of their sensei when they realized what was happening.

"Too late…" Zabuza whispered from behind them.

Naruto jumped and twisted in the air to see Kakashi shoving Tazuna aside while blocking a strike from Zabuza's sword merely with a kunai., then quickly spinning it around, he lodged the kunai into Zabuza's ribs.

Sakura had grabbed Tazuna and retreated to a safer distance while Sasuke was not too far from Naruto, having reacted in the same manor.

Naruto watched as his sensei fought with the rouge Jonin

Kakashi's eyes widened however when instead of blood, water leaked from the wound.

"A Mizu Bunshin!" Kakashi exclaimed as Zabuza exploded into water.

The next thing they all knew, Zabuza was swinging his sword through Kakashi.

"NO!!!" Sakura yelled in surprise.

However, Kakashi exploded into water as well, causing Zabuza to widen his eyes.

'_He copied it in this mist!!!'_ he realized.

"It's over…" Kakashi said as he held a kunai to Zabuza's neck.

"Impressive that you not only saw through my technique in this mist, but copied it and used it against me as well. However…" Zabuza, once again, exploded into water as Kakashi's eyes widened.

"I'm not that easy to fool either…" Zabuza said from behind the Sharingan wielder.

.Zabuza was in mid-swing with his sword when Kakashi reacted.

Ducking under the blade, Kakashi kicked at Zabuza's stomach, aiming to incapacitate him.

Zabuza's sword was imbedded in the ground and he used it as leverage to dodge the kick by twisting around.

He raised his leg and kicked at Kakashi, making contact and watching as the Jonin sailed through the air towards the water.

Smirking to himself, Zabuza jerked his sword out of the ground and made chase.

He was halted however when he saw that Kakashi had lain Makibishi on the ground.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he and the others watched Zabuza disappear in a flash of speed while Kakashi landed in the water.

'_I have a bad feeling about this…'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Kakashi quickly emerged from the water, frowning. '_Something's wrong… The water, it's heavy…'_

Behind him, Zabuza appeared, flying through hand seals.

"You fool…" he declared in a victorious tone.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized the situation he was suddenly in as water seemed to surround him and bind him.

"**Suirō no Jutsu**" Zabuza grinned as he held the Kakashi in the water prison.

"The three of you! Grab Tazuna and run!!!"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he watched Zabuza run through a series of one handed seals.

'_With only one hand?!'_ he thought in amazement. '_This guy is good…'_

From the water rose an exact replica of Zabuza.

"RUN!!!" Kakashi yelled at his team.

Naruto watched the Mizu Bunshin closely, and realized that it was about to charge him.

'_FUCK!'_

Displaying speed that the original Zabuza had displayed, the Bunshin was on Naruto faster than he could react and was attempting to block the blows that were being rained down upon Naruto with surprising results.

The real Zabuza raised his eyebrows in surprise. '_Interesting for a Genin…'_

However, the Bunshin quickly overwhelmed Naruto and had him pinned on the ground.

"Foolish boy… You think you can call yourself a Shinobi!? By the time I was your age, I had already dyed my hands in blood!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. '_Great… He's starting a monologue!'_

Naruto glanced at Sasuke as Zabuza continued on his speech about how he had killed his graduating class. He mouthed something and Sasuke nodded as he withdrew a kunai.

'_Team work…'_ Sasuke acknowledged.

Sasuke threw the blade at the Mizu Bunshin which was quickly caught. However, it was followed by Sasuke appearing behind the Zabuza, aiming a punch at his neck.

Zabuza jumped back, freeing Naruto from under his foot.

The blonde jumped to his feet, withdrawing his own kunai and quickly dodging a hail of shuriken from the nuke-nin.

Naruto threw the kunai and followed up by his signature move.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**."

Four Naruto's appeared beside the original.

"Sasuke… Let's attack him together…"

The raven haired Uchiha nodded, not bothering to verbally answer his team mate.

Within seconds, the five Narutos were on the Mizu Bunshin, using their altered Goken style.

The original Zabuza chuckled as he spoke to his prisoner.

"It seems that the blonde is quite the prodigy…"

Kakashi said nothing, opting to watch his students take on the Bunshin as he could do nothing else.

'_Let's see exactly how Naruto will fair…'_ Kakashi narrowed his eyes as Sasuke joined the fray, using his own Taijutsu style combined with a kunai slash here and there.

Naruto grabbed the arm of one of his clones and spun himself around after being thrown away by the Mizu Bunshin.

'_Time to use chakra to push myself further…'_ Naruto recalled his water walking and tree climbing training and focused his chakra in the soles of his feet.

'_NOW!'_ Naruto rocketed towards Zabuza with his clones, each of them using coordinated strikes and combos to break the clone.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as the clone grabbed on of his own clones. Then he noticed, that the original Zabuza's attention was entirely on the fight.

'_Bingo…'_ thought the blonde Genin.

Zabuza chuckled when Naruto called upon more clones. "Strength in numbers eh Kakashi?"

The Konoha Jonin said nothing as his eyes narrowed even further.

'_They don't stand a chance… Why are they still fighting? They should have grabbed Tazuna and gone back to Konoha!'_

"When this is all done, I may leave one of them alive… Just to show some mercy on them" Zabuza chuckled.

Zabuza looked over at his prisoner. "Something wrong Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked over at Zabuza for a moment before looking back at the fight.

His eyes widened briefly when he caught sight of what Naruto was doing.

'…_I see…'_

Zabuza looked back at the fight to see three Naruto's charging him, running across the water.

'_Hmm… So he knows how to walk on water… Impressive for a Genin, but it won't be enough…'_

Suddenly, the three Naruto's disappeared. Zabuza's eyes widened at this.

Grasping his sword he swung it around, keeping his one arm in the water prison and struck one of the Naruto's that had just appeared behind him. It vanished in a plum of smoke, but another Naruto jumped out of the water and through the smoke.

Using the sword as leverage it jumped into the air, while running through hand seals. Zabuza however was quicker and threw his gigantic sword into the air where it killed the Naruto clone.

'_One left'_ Zabuza thought. As if beckoned by this thought the last Naruto rocketed up at Zabuza from right underneath him. Narrowing his eyes at the Genin, he used his free hand to grab the boy by the neck and slam him back into the water.

"Fool! Did you think that you could really surprise me with that ploy?" Zabuza sneered.

Zabuza realized that Naruto was smiling as he heard his sword hit the water.

Zabuza glanced at his sword as it began to sink and swore when he heard something from the water.

He looked back at the grinning blonde when he felt a spike of chakra.

He looked down slightly at the boys hand, where the water seemed to be spinning.

"Oh fu…" Zabuza didn't have time to finish his sentence as Naruto's technique slammed into his chest painfully and threw Zabuza away.

Naruto sunk slightly from the force of the technique, but used his chakra to reemerge from the water.

Naruto looked up to see a sopping wet Kakashi smiling down at him.

"Nice work there Naruto… That was very clever."

Naruto smiled and nodded at Kakashi, taking deep breaths of water after being held in the water by Zabuza.

"I think it's best you get back to the shore, Zabuza has just recovered." Naruto turned around to see Zabuza, having recovered his sword from sinking.

On his chest was a large bruise from Naruto's technique hitting point blank.

'_That brat actually hit me with his technique… Interesting that he already knows elemental manipulation… Once I'm done with his sensei, he'll be next.'_

Naruto jumped away, landing on the shore where his remaining clones and Sasuke had just killed the Mizu Bunshin utilizing Sasuke's Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu and a well placed exploding tag from the Naruto clones.

The remaining clones puffed out of existence, letting Naruto gain the knowledge of how he had dealt with the Mizu Bunshin.

Grinning he watched as Zabuza and Kakashi exchanged a few words before proceeding with rapid hand seals that seemed to blur together.

"**Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu**" the two Jutsu were created and clashed with each other, sending a shockwave that rocked the water and sprayed squad seven and Tazuna with water.

'_This is a real Shinobi fight?!'_ Tazuna thought in awe as the two Jonin met in the middle of the water, kunai struggling against sword.

Zabuza gritted his teeth as he tried to gain ground on Kakashi.

'_Dammit…'_ he jumped back just as Kakashi did and began to circle each other.

'_He's got that…'_

"…sickening look in his eye!"

Zabuza's eyes widened when Kakashi finished his own thought for him. Zabuza began to run through hand seals for his next Jutsu.

"ALL YOUR DOING IS…"

"COPYING ME! YOU CAN'T BE ME WITH YOUR TRICKS!!!" Kakashi finished for him.

That's when he saw it… Behind Kakashi was… him?

'_W…what is this?! That's me!'_ Zabuza halted his hand seals for a moment, but noticed something else.

Kakashi was finishing the Jutsu.

'_WHAT!? He's finishing my Jutsu before me? HOW!?'_

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu**" Kakashi finished the Jutsu as the water began to churn.

'_This can't be!'_ Zabuza thought as the techinique slammed into him and threw him like a rag doll.

He painfully hit a tree as the water receded and Kakashi appeared on a branch above him, kunai out and ready.

"C…Can you see the future?"

"Yes… and I can see, your death…" Before Kakashi could react, two senbon needles fly into Zabuza's neck with a sickening pop.

Naruto's eyes widened as he traced their trajectory back to who had thrown them.

There, in another tree, stood what he had read to be a Kiri Hunter-nin.

'_Wow… never thought I'd see one of those on this mission!'_ Naruto thought as he remembered a book he had read a few weeks prior that included images of how Hunter nin would dress.

"It seems as if you were correct about Zabuza-sans death…" the Hunter-nin said as he used a Shunshin to appear next to Zabuza's fallen body.

Kakashi nodded as he pulled is Hitai-ate over his Sharingan.

'_Looks like it's finally over…'_

"I thank you for handling him until now… I will, however, be taking it from here. You have my thanks…"

Kakashi nodded at the boy. '_He's young… yet strong…'_

The boy hoisted Zabuza over his shoulder and made a sign for Shunshin.

Kakashi sighed once the boy disappeared and walked towards the group.

"Well, that was fun wasn't it?"

Naruto chuckled at the silver haired Jonin while Sasuke grinned and Sakura sighed.

Tazuna could only shake his head at the Shinobi. '_Well, at least they are as strong as they say' _he thought to himself.

"Well, let's continue…" Kakashi said as he stood still. Naruto noticed that something was wrong with the Jonin.

"Are you ok Kakashi-sensei?" As soon as Naruto asked this question, Kakashi fell forward on his face before mumbling. "I think I may have over done it…"

Naruto shook his head. "I'll carry him from here…"

Tazuna could only sweat drop at this.

'_Well, at least home isn't too far from here…'_ thought the old man.

* * *

_**Translations:**_

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Water release: Great Waterfall technique.

Kirigakure no Kijin – Demon of the hidden mist.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique

Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water clone Technique

Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shū – Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist

Suirō no Jutsu – Water Prison Technique

Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet

Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu – Fire release- Great Fireball Technique

Kirigakure no Jutsu – Hidden Mist Technique

* * *

_**Well, there is the chapter! I won't make any promises this time, I've learned my lesson, however, it will be within 30 days… That much is a sure thing… I know I know, my word is worth shit at this point, but at least I released this bloody chapter so don't bitch at me! :( Well, hope to see you next time and don't forget to fucking review!!!**_

_**And seriously, do NOT, complain about how long it took me to get this chapter out. I get it, it's been a LONG time and I apologized... Believe it or not, I understand your frustration!  
**_


	4. A Lesson in Chakra and Hatred

_**Well!!! A few days later, and already another chapter… This was originally going to be named demons, for certain reasons… But because of how long the chapter was becoming, I had to split it into two separate chapters. Chapter five, (Which will be named 'Demons')f will be released right when I've finished writing it… That may take two weeks, as I am in the process of moving and I will not have as frequent access to the internet as I used to.**_

_**Well, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Anyone dressed as a Naruto character? I'll be an Akatsuki member next year, but for now, I'm dressed as a pirate! XP**_

_**This chapter is my gift to you. I wrote it within a few days, but I'm happy with it. Didn't edit it much though, so for any errors you see, I apologize… I just really wanted to get this out today! Hehehe. I'll much more careful with other chapters.**_

_**Well here is chapter four.**_

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!!!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_**A Lesson in Chakra and Hatred**_

* * *

"No fucking way!" Naruto yelled as he stared at his recovering sensei.

It had been a full day of Kakashi being unconscious, and when he had woken up, his body was temporarily out of commission.

"I would do it if I could Naruto, but I can't… Plus, you do know how to do it already so you have the ability to show them."

Naruto glared at Kakashi for a moment before countering.

"Even if I did agree, Sasuke and Sakura aren't the type to learn from what I've been dubbed as, a Dobe."

Kakashi chuckled weakly. "Once you show them what they need to learn, they will realize just how important it is."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "The problem is to get them to stop hating me long enough to show them and explain it."

"If I order them to listen to you for a few simple minutes, I'm sure you'll be able to do it."

Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms. "By the way, there's something that's been bugging me since yesterday…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. "What would that be?"

"The Hunter-nin that took Zabuza's body… Something isn't clicking there…"

'_So… He figured it out as well? Surprising as he wasn't taught about Hunter-nins in the academy as they're exclusive to Kiri…'_

"What do you mean Naruto?" Kakashi asked, wanting to hear Naruto's conclusion for himself.

"Well, I remember reading a book about Kirigakure's Hunter-nins and what they do… Maybe the book was outdated and all, but I read that they destroy the body where it was found or killed. All they are supposed to take is the head, and it's not like it's hard to decapitate someone. I think, that the Hunter-nin could have been a fake."

Naruto stared at Kakashi, awaiting a reply, who was also waiting for Naruto to continue.

A few minutes of silence from the both of them until Naruto finally broke the awkward silence.

"Well? What do you think?" he asked nervously as he shuffled his feet slightly.

"You're right… Zabuza is most likely alive" Kakashi said simply. "I'm surprised Naruto! The fact that you came up with that on your own is speaking volumes about how much you;ve matured since I bumped into you that day at the Hokage Mansion."

Naruto blushed at this. "I…It was only luck that I had read that book not too long ago…"

Kakashi smiled at this. "Still, it's good that you're educating yourself. If I had not been able to reach that conclusion already, you could have just saved us."

Naruto continued to shuffle his feet, not out of nervousness, but embarrassment.

"Well, the thing is that the senbon needles hit pressure points, and I regret that I didn't check for a pulse… I was already feeling the effects of the Sharingan hit me and it clouded my judgement. It was stupid on my end not to check."

Naruto's eyes widened. After having watched Kakashi whoop Zabuza's ass, Naruto's opinion of his sensei had sky rocketed, and now, here he was, admitting fault to his mistake. '_Wow… I want to be a Shinobi like Kakashi-sensei one day…'_

"That is why you need to prepare your team mates Naruto… Sasuke and Sakura need to be better prepared for the coming battle…"

Naruto sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Fine, whatever… You're going to have to convince them to somehow listen to me though…" Naruto said in a defeated tone.

* * *

Sakura sat in the kitchen and smiled at Tsunami, the daughter of Tazuna. When Squad seven had arrived on her doorstep with her father, she had immediately adopted a motherly quality and began fussing over them all.

When she had heard about how they had protected him from the Demon brothers and Zabuza, she had begun fussing even more. She had immediately set up a room for Kakashi to rest in on his own so that he could recover quickly and then set her eyes on the three Genin.

She had fussed over Sakura first, probably because she was a female. While she was distracted, Naruto and Sasuke had slipped out for a few hours. Naruto had been the first to return, saying that he wanted to 'scout' the area. Sasuke walked in not long after, not even bothering to give an excuse to any of them.

Now, here was Tsunami, cooking a meal for lunch while Sasuke had disappeared and Naruto was upstairs talking to their finally conscious sensei.

"So is this you're first time being out of your village Sakura?" Tsunami asked as she continued cooking.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I mean, this far from the village at least… I've gone to a town not far from Konoha with my parents a few times as a child, but I didn't do anything."

Tsunami smiled. "So what is Konoha like?"

Sakura thought for a moment, having never been asked about her village.

"It's big… Everybody is so nice there, and the boys are cute… for the most part that is."

Tsunami looked over her shoulder at the girl. "For the most part?" she inquired.

"Well, Sasuke is drop dead gorgeous, and not a lot of guys in our village can compare… But the ugliest our village has to offer would be Naruto!"

Tsunami raised an eyebrow at this. "You think so?"

Sakura nodded vigorously. "Definitely! I would never date that in a million years!"

Before Tsunami could answer, a new voice interrupted.

"Don't worry Sakura, you're definitely not my type to begin with, so you're safe."

Sakura wheeled around to see Naruto entering the kitchen. He bowed politely to Tsunami before turning to Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei wants to talk to you and Sasuke…" Naruto glanced around the kitchen. "Do you know where he went?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I don't."

Naruto shrugged. "I'll go find him, but he wants to talk to you two together, so stay here until I bring him back."

With that said, Naruto left the kitchen and a moment later, they heard the door open and the close.

Tsunami saw that Sakura was glaring at into the hallway where she had last seen Naruto.

"I don't know what you mean Sakura, if I were his age, I would definitely try going for him…" Sakura turned and looked at Tsunami in shock.

"You're kidding!" she exclaimed while Tsunami simply shook her head.

"He seems nice, and you have to admit he's cute with his blonde hair and blue eyes." Tsunami looked at Sakura as she began going through a list of why Naruto wasn't even close to cute.

"…and one time, he painted the Hokage monument! Not to mention the horrible jumpsuit he used to wear! I'm waiting for its return honestly!!!"

"Sakura… Why do you hate Naruto so much?" Tsunami suddenly asked. Sakura looked confused at the question. "Well, it's just that he seems so polite, and you just seem to hate him with every ounce of your being."

Sakura was silent for a moment before answering her.

"…I don't hate him… It's just that, I can't really stand being near him… He used to pester me all the time for a date, and no matter how many times I yelled at him to knock it off, he would keep it up…"

Tsunami listened as the girl continued.

"Back then, I didn't really enjoy it, but it gave me a confidence boost in a way… Then, recently, it stopped, and he just started acting cold towards me… I don't know what happened, but something changed and now he treats me like garbage…"

At this point, Sakura had brought her knees to her chest. "I hit him a few times, and I tried apologizing to him, but he just rejected it…"

Tsunami could see that the girl was hurting, but she couldn't really sympathize. '_After all, there are always two sides to a story…'_ Tsunami thought to herself.

She set down the knife she had been using to cut some celery and walked to the table and sat down next to the pink haired Kunoichi. She snaked an arm around her and patted her shoulder.

"Well, if you're wondering if he hates you, I don't think he does… Whatever happened between you two will pass… I don't know all of the details and he may have a different view on the subject entirely, but he does seem like a decent human being… I'm sure that given time, he will come to forgive you."

Sakura sniffed. "Do you think so?" she asked hopefully as she looked at Tsunami.

The mother nodded with a small smile gracing her face. "Just give it time… You two may work things out."

Sakura sniffed again. "Well, we were never really friends… I hardly ever talked to him, and when I did, I usually was berating him for being in my way or for pulling some stupid prank…"

Tsunami shrugged. "We all do stupid things when we're young, we all figure that out at some point. For now, just be nice to him, it may take some time, but in the end, it will be worth it."

Before Sakura could reply, the sound of the door opening was heard and Sakura realized that there were tears on her cheeks. Quickly wiping them and her eyes, she stood up, ready to talk with Kakashi-sensei.

Sasuke and Naruto appeared in the kitchen, neither looking happy.

Naruto walked past Sasuke and sat on the table while Sakura and Sasuke gave him a questioning look.

"Aren't you coming along?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook his head. "He asked for the two of you specifically."

Sasuke shrugged as he walked up the stairs while Sakura followed wordlessly.

Tsunami sighed as she watched the pink haired Genin ascend the stairs silently.

She turned to find that Naruto was currently cutting the celery she had left unattended.

"You don't have to do that!" Tsunami exclaimed as she rushed towards the blonde.

"Don't worry Tsunami-san… We are your guests and I feel that I should at least help you out with these types of things…"

Tsunami came up behind the boy to find the he was already finished cutting the celery.

"What exactly are you making?" he asked her.

"Um…stew…" she mumbled.

"What type of stew?"

* * *

Zabuza lay in a bed, his body unresponsive to his mental commands.

'_GODDAMMIT!'_ he yelled mentally. At that moment, his protégé, Haku, walked through the door.

Upon seeing the look on Zabuza's face, he smiled sweetly down at his father figure.

"I'm sorry Zabuza-sama, but I had to make sure that it seemed as if you were dead…'

"Well, next time, don't be so brutal…" Zabuza whispered.

Haku sighed. "The damage from that boy's water technique did more damage than I had anticipated and gave you a minor case of whiplash which worsened the aftereffects of the near death state that I placed you in… If I had known, I wouldn't have aimed for your neck…"

Zabuza could only blink.

"Don't worry Zabuza-sama, this should only last two weeks…"

'_Two weeks of utter hell…'_ thought the former Kiri Shinobi.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura stared at Naruto as he led them to a clearing he had discovered the day they had arrived.

'_I originally planned on training on my own here… However, circumstances have changed…'_

He stopped and whirled around to face his two team mates.

"Well… Seeing as how Kakashi-sensei is out of commission, I'll be taking over until he's back on his feet."

Sasuke snorted at this as Naruto focused a glare at him.

"Something to say, Teme?"

Sasuke glared back before answering. "I don't know why Kakashi is having a Dobe like you teach us… What are you supposed to teach us, how to appropriately pull a stupid prank on someone?"  
Naruto glared at the Uchiha for a moment before chuckling.

"Do you really think that Kakashi-sensei would have me teach you how to prank someone? Are you that stupid?" Naruto asked, a grin etched on his face.

Sasuke huffed. "Well, I doubt you know anything that Sakura and I don't already know besides that water Jutsu you used against during our bell test."

Naruto shook his head. "I'm going to ignore that for now, Teme… No, today, Kakashi wants me to train you on chakra control."

Sakura and Sasuke both raised eyebrows at this.

This time, it was Sakura who spoke. "Chakra control? You had the worst chakra control back in the academy Naruto, what can you teach us?"

Naruto ran his hand through his hair.

"Well, to put it simply, Kakashi wants me to show you how to climb trees."

Sakura and Sasuke stared at Naruto. They said nothing as they continued to stare at the blonde.

"C…climbing trees?... ARE YOU JOKING!?" Sakura yelled as she let her temper get a hold of her.

"Would you calm down… This is a different type of tree climbing… You aren't allowed to use you're hands at all" Naruto said as he pulled out a kunai and began tossing it up in the air.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, not getting what he meant.

"Let me demonstrate…" Naruto said as grabbed his kunai and put it in its holster.

Naruto walked towards a tree, his expression blank.

'_I can't wait to see their expressions!'_ he thought to himself excitedly.

He reached the tree and casually place his left foot on the trunk, then the right foot. He slowly ascended the tree, using his chakra to climb vertically with his hands in his pockets. He reached a branch and walked along the bottom, and tilted his head up, so that he was looking down at an awed Sakura and an intrigued Sasuke.

'_Hehehe. Priceless…'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"All you do, is simply focus chakra into the soles of your feet and walk up the tree… Although, I would recommend running up the tree to start off. You will be marking your progress with your kunai… Normally I should provide the kunai from what Kakashi-sensei told me, but I think you two are old enough to use your own kunai."

Sasuke and Sakura glared at Naruto for the sarcasm.

Naruto cut the flow of chakra and plummeted to the earth. Sakura's eyes widened, however, Naruto flipped so that he landed on the ground below. The impact left a small crater, which Sasuke filed away mentally for later.

'_Interesting…'_ thought the Uchiha as he plucked a kunai out of his holster. Without a moments hesitation, he ran towards the tree while focusing chakra into his feet. He reached the tree and placed his foot on the bark.

For a moment, he grinned, thinking he had succeeded… The next thing he knew, the bark where his foot was exploded and he was thrown back.

Sasuke rolled to his feet and glared at the tree.

"Too much chakra and you're thrown off, too little, you slip off… It's definitely more difficult than you think Sasuke…" Naruto said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow when he noticed the tone of malice was missing.

'_He's actually trying to help?'_ Sasuke wondered to himself. Before he could think any more on the subject, Sakura's voice rang through the clearing.

"You know… This is a lot easier than I thought!" Far above the ground, was a grinning Sakura who sat on one of the higher branches, swinging her legs playfully.

Naruto grinned as he turned to look at Sasuke.

"Well well, looks like our precious Uchiha couldn't beat Sakura up the tree. Too bad…"

Up in the tree, a vein throbbed in Sakura's forehead.

"DAMN IT NARUTO-BAKA, DON'T MAKE SASUKE-KUN HATE ME!!!"

Naruto ignored her as he walked past Sasuke.

"It really is too bad…" Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

Sasuke gritted his teeth angrily as Naruto walked back towards Tazuna's house.

Sasuke looked back at the tree he was supposed to be ascending.

'…_How am I supposed to beat Itachi when I'm stuck here climbing trees?!'_ Sasuke wondered angrily.

* * *

Naruto walked through the front door to find a small boy glaring at him.

Naruto gave him a small wave which only strengthened the boys glare.

Naruto felt mild irritation at this and was about to speak up when Tazuna walked in the room.

"Ah!!! I see you've finally met my grandson Inari!" he boomed.

Naruto simply nodded, continuing to stare at the boy who would not stop glaring at him.

Naruto walked past him and towards the kitchen where the stew he had assisted Tsunami with sat bubbling mildly.

He walked up the stairs to find Tsunami exiting Kakashi's room.

"Oh, Naruto-san!" she exclaimed when she noticed him. "I thought you were out training with your team mates!"

Naruto shook his head.

"Kakashi-sensei asked me to show them a training exercise. I just need to ask him a question before I go and start my own training."

Tsunami nodded, wondering what kind of training a Shinobi went through.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck!" she said with a motherly smile.

Naruto smiled back, his thoughts drifting slightly to what it would be like to have Tsunami as a mother.

He shook his head as she brushed past him.

Composing himself, Naruto opened the door to Kakashi's room to find him trying to sit up.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" he asked the Jonin.

Kakashi grunted. "Yes, but I just wanted to assess the damage to my body…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what are the results?"

Kakashi groaned before giving up and flopping back down on his futon. "I should be back to one hundred percent in about six or seven days."

Naruto sighed. "So, Sakura already scaled the tree…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, that's… Unsurprising…"

"W…what? You knew she'd scale that tree on her first try?" he asked incredulously.

Kakashi shook his head weakly. "Not on her first try, but I knew she'd be able to get up the tree before Sasuke… Sakura seems to have precise chakra control due to her lack of reserves. Sasuke has larger chakra reserves and therefore, a more difficult time at chakra control. Sasuke will have an easier time with this exercise than you for the same reason. Compared to you, his chakra reserves are miniscule."

Naruto was silent and stared at Kakashi before speaking bluntly.

"Sounds like some weird penis measuring game to me…"

Kakashi sweat dropped.

'_Blunt, but he does have a point…'_ Kakashi thought as his mind wandered to Icha Icha Paradise.

"So what should we have Sakura do?" Naruto asked his sensei.

"Hm? Oh… I guess put her on guard duty with Tazuna for now while Sasuke continues to struggle with his training" Kakashi answered in a sweetly happy voice.

"…You may not be any crazy bitch, but you still have your own way of being sadistic…" Naruto said with narrowed eyes.

Kakashi chuckled. "That's right, you encountered Anko."

Naruto's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"

"Oh I saw the whole thing unfold Naruto" Kakashi said in a matter of fact tone.

"Whatever…" Naruto sighed.

* * *

Sasuke wiped sweat from his brow as he looked up at the tree riddled with slash marks.

He had made it half way up the accursed tree and was starting to feel a little light headed.

The light of day was beginning to fade rapidly, meaning he would have to return soon for dinner having skipped lunch.

Hearing movement behind him, he saw Naruto emerge from the foliage.

"Any progress Teme?" the blonde Genin asked.

"Where did Sakura go?" Sasuke asked.

"Protect Tazuna… She completed the training already, so Kakashi-sensei figured it would be a waste of her time to stay here."

Sasuke clenched his fist at this. "How the hell does this exercise benefit me?" he asked angrily.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. "Um… Well I thought you would know…"

Sasuke glared at this.

Grinning at the raven haired Uchiha, Naruto began explaining.

"Well, if you master this exercise, you'll waste less chakra on your Ninjutsu and therefore be able to use more Jutsu. Also, you can use this technique to increase your speed in the midst of battle."

Sasuke raised both eyebrows at this. '_I didn't think it would help that much… hm…'_

Sasuke looked back at the tree, determined to get to the top more than ever now.

"My advice, find your comfort zone" Naruto said suddenly.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto before looking back at the tree.

Naruto looked at Sasuke before elaborating. "For instance, if you don't put enough chakra into it, you feel slightly off balance, while if you put too much chakra, it kind of burns in a way… You just need to find what feels…right."

Sasuke closed his eyes as he concentrated on his chakra, trying what Naruto had just suggested.

He slowly added to his chakra output until he felt that 'comfort zone' as Naruto had put it.

Opening his eyes, he bolted for the tree and straight up. He kept climbing and climbing, approaching his last mark on the tree. Before he knew it, he had passed it and was continuing to ascend until twelve more feet up, he felt himself slipping.

Slashing at the tree with his kunai, he marked his new record before flipping backwards and landing painfully on the ground.

"Nice Sasuke! Better than I did when I found out about that little trick." Naruto said as he looked up at the new mark.

Sasuke sat down on the ground, panting again as fatigue hit him.

"How… long did it… take you?" he asked between breaths.

Naruto looked at Sasuke before chuckling.

"On my first day, I definitely wasn't this far along, I can tell you that much!"

Sasuke looked up at the sky, where the first stars were beginning to appear.

"Well, we should probably be heading back to Tazuna's. Tsunami made some stew for lunch and we're having some for dinner as well, and let me tell you, it tastes fucking great!"

Naruto held out his hand, offering to help Sasuke up.

The Uchiha considered the hand for a second before taking it and being hoisted off the ground.

"By the way, Naruto… I don't have the Sharingan…" Sasuke said, recalling the outburst from Naruto back in Konoha the other day.

Naruto blinked before chuckling and rubbing the back of his head.

"So… you were really just looking for someone to train with?" he asked, feeling like an idiot.

Sasuke simply nodded. "But, it's clear that you and I wouldn't be able to stand each other for very long."

Naruto laughed at this. "Wow Sasuke! You have a sense of humor!!! I can't wait to tell all of Konoha when we get back! I may even paint THAT on the Hokage monument."

Sasuke shot Naruto a dirty look which only added fuel to the fire.

"Now I'm definitely doing it if that's the kind of reaction I'm getting from you for just suggesting it!"

Sasuke sighed. '_I guess Naruto is still just that… Naruto…'_

* * *

Sakura heard the door open after having some stew for dinner which tasted divine in her own opinion.

What surprised her was to find out that Naruto had helped make the delicious meal.

'_Who knew that Dobe could cook!'_ she had thought.

She turned to see a worn out Sasuke being supported by a grinning Naruto.

'_Is…is Naruto really helping Sasuke?' _Sakura wondered as she rubbed her eyes.

"There you go Teme, now we have officially arrived!" Before Sasuke knew it, Naruto had ducked out from under Sasuke's arm, leaving him with nothing to lean against as he crashed onto the floor.

'_Ok…I was mistaken…'_ Sakura thought with a dirty look aimed at Naruto as she got up to help her precious Sasuke.

Sasuke had already pulled himself up and sat down at the table as he stared hungrily at the big pot of stew in the middle of the table.

Naruto plopped down next to him and grinned.

"I hope there's some left Sasuke… It would be such a shame for you to have missed it all!"

Sasuke grabbed one of the bowls next to him and used the ladle in the pot to scoop the stew into his bowl before devouring it with gusto.

"Seems as if Sasuke has your appetite, Naruto…" Kakashi said as he limped down the stairs using a pair of crutches.

"Kakashi-sensei! It looks like you've decided to join us at last!!!" Naruto exclaimed in mock surprise.

Chuckling, Kakashi sat down on Naruto's other side and looked at the stew as well.

"I have been upstairs resting all day, and no one seems to have remembered to bring their sensei some of this delicious stew!" he said in a hurt tone.

"Oh can it Kakashi-sensei!!! I saw Tsunami-san bring you some stew earlier when I brought Sakura back for lunch" Naruto pointed out with a grin.

Kakashi struck a thoughtful pose before admitting defeat. "You've got me there Naruto…"

Grinning, Naruto stood up. "Well, I'll be back in a few hours!" he announced.

"Where the hell do you think your going?" Tazuna asked as he entered the room, Inari trailing behind him.

Shedding his red and black coat, Naruto grinned a fox like grin.

"Well, Sakura and Sasuke have been training all day while I've been helping you're daughter cook and helping you build a bridge all day! It's time I got to it as well!"

Without another word, Naruto slid past Tazuna and bolted for the door.

"Be careful out there!" Tsunami called from another room when she heard what he was planning.

The door closed, leaving silence in Naruto's wake.

"Don't worry about Naruto, he'll be fine out there. As long as he doesn't over do it…"

Kakashi glanced at the door. '_I hope he'll be alright out there…'_

* * *

Naruto grinned as he formed the cross sign for his Kage Bunshin technique.

The clearing that Sasuke and Sakura had been training in previously was suddenly full of grinning blondes garbed in black.

The original Naruto stood in the middle of the large crowd, his face expressionless, eyes closed.

'_All right… Time to increase the weights one more time…'_ Naruto formed the ram seals as he felt the weights on his limbs pulse slightly.

'_Just a bit heavier…'_ he thought as he continued a slow and steady stream of chakra into the seals written on his weights.

Opening his eyes, he cut off the flow of chakra and raised one of his arms.

"Not too bad… It'll require a bit more effort to move now…"

Without warning, five Bunshin from the large army of Narutos attacked him.

Naruto jumped back as one of the Bunshin's feet impacted the spot where Naruto had been, leaving a small yet noticeable crater.

"Show time!" the Bunshin all yelled enthusiastically.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he dropped into a Goken pose.

'_No Bunshin for this fight…'_ thought the original blonde.

He threw himself towards the oncoming Bunshin and began to throw his punches, not holding anything back.

His first strike was avoided by the Bunshin he was after while another of the clones went for a roundhouse kick which was blocked by Naruto's forearm.

Without a moment of hesitation, Naruto grabbed the leg of the clone and whirled around, using his momentum to hit one clone with the one he was holding.

Two puffs signified their defeat. From the group surrounding the fight, four more Bunshin replaced the two that had been killed.

Naruto focused chakra into the soles of his feet just like Sasuke had been doing all day and sped towards the new Bunshin, deciding to forget the other three for the moment.

Pulling out a kunai, he threw it at one Bunshin's head only for a horde of shuriken to intercept the knife.

Naruto jumped over the shuriken that were headed towards his own being and spun, avoiding a few kunai that had been thrown from behind him.

'_Maybe I should have taken care of those first…'_ Naruto thought to himself before focusing on his surroundings once again.

Landing, Naruto was quickly met by two of the seven Bunshin.

Gritting his teeth again, he began dodging and blocking strikes aimed to incapacitate him.

Naruto then caught something as one of his clones went for a palm strike.

'_A hole!!!'_ he realized.

Pushing himself to move quickly, he knocked the strike aside while lashing out with his foot at the Bunshin behind him.

Pulling a shuriken from his pouch, he flicked it right through the hole in his Bunshin's form and struck him in the chest.

The clone's eyes widened before puffing out of existence. All of the Naruto's present widened their eyes when the received the information of their fallen brother.

'_Once I'm done with this, I'll need to fix my form…'_ Naruto thought as he filed it away mentally for later usage.

Using this distraction, he spun around, withdrawing a kunai and slamming it into the clone behind him who was still processing his brother's memories.

"Hey! That's not fair!" one clone yelled as the newest clone died.

Grinning, Naruto threw the kunai at one of the other clones that was charging him. "We're Shinobi! We don't play fair!"

From the group, four more had joined the fray, once again replacing two fallen Bunshin.

"Time to step up my game!" Naruto announced as he charged the Bunshin.

He met the first Bunshin within seconds, exchanging blows, neither of them gaining any ground while the other Bunshin circled him, clearly strategizing.

The clone swept at Naruto's feet which Naruto avoided by cart wheeling over while withdrawing three shuriken.

Landing on his feet, he twirled around and launched the shuriken and killed three of the Bunshin before reengaging with the first Bunshin.

While exchanging more strikes, six Bunshin replaced the three dead Bunshin.

'_Duck, left, back, punch, block, grab, twirl…'_

Naruto was on autopilot, thinking only his moves as he continued the struggle to gain ground on his counterpart. Pumping just a bit more chakra into his feet, he gained the upper hand, using a palm strike to snap the clones head back, breaking its neck before it vanished in smoke.

Without waiting for the smoke to clear, Naruto charged after the surrounding Bunshin.

Jumping forward and twisting in through the air, he withdrew a kunai from a Bunshin's holster and used it to kill a Bunshin just ahead of him.

Throwing his hand out, he pushed off of the ground to barely avoid a torrent of water.

'_Pulling out the big guns are we?'_ he thought to himself as he began hand seals.

Suddenly, a shuriken pierced his skull. Naruto's eyes widened before he transformed into a log.

"Fuck, a Kawarimi!" exclaimed the owner of the shuriken.

The original Naruto appeared behind the small group of Naruto's that had been fighting against him.

Eyes blazing with intensity, Naruto ran through the hand seals for one of his new fire style Jutsu.

"**Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu**!" The clones widened their eyes as they whirled around to face their opponent, but it was too late. The enormous fireball engulfed the clones, incinerating them and even impacting on the awaiting clones before they could even react.

The army of Narutos had finally decided to all react at the same time.

Being charged by his remaining clones, Naruto readied himself.

'_Oh boy… Kinda wish I hadn't increased the weights now…'_

Springing into action, Naruto engaged four of his Bunshin all at once.

'_Under, left, block, push, punch, block, kick, evade, sweep, dodge, dodge, ow!!!'_

Naruto winced as a kunai imbedded itself in his leg.

Falling to one knee, Naruto grabbed the kunai and pulled it out of his leg, watching the blood pour from the wound. Throwing it aside, he focused as much chakra as he could in his palm, contorting it, shaping it.

"**Suiton: Hahonryū**!" The water molecules in the air provided the resources for Naruto's Jutsu, in conjunction with the large amount of chakra that he had poured into the Jutsu.

The results blew away any opposition in front of Naruto.

The torrent of water tore through all of the Bunshin that stood in its way and even created a large dent in the tree it struck.

Wincing in pain thanks to his wounded leg, he jumped up and avoided a punch thrown by one of his Bunshin. Fighting through the pain, Naruto side stepped another strike while lashing out with his own fist, catching the clone in the cheek.

Naruto had overlooked a clone to his left who caught him off guard and planted a foot in Naruto's stomach, launching him back through the air, winded.

Naruto landed on the ground painfully but recovered by using the momentum to roll to a crouching position.

Naruto panted and winced as he felt his leg throb painfully while a dull ache appeared in his stomach from the kick.

'_Fuck… I'm not in a good position here… I need to train more often like this.'_

Naruto's eyes widened as two Bunshin's ran through the same set of hand seals.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed as he ran through his own, pouring more chakra than necessary into the Jutsu.

"**Fūton: Daitoppa!"** Naruto's swore as the clones preformed a Jutsu he had recently began working on. He wasn't through with his hand seals as he was struck by the devastating Jutsu.

Trees were torn apart and Naruto felt the winds cutting him slightly as he flew back.

He didn't know how long he was caught in the Jutsu for, but it probably wasn't as long as he perceived.

The Jutsu died down and Naruto hit the ground, skidding painfully to a stop.

Gasping for the air that had been knocked out of him, Naruto could only think one thing.

'_That's a Jutsu I need to perfect to use against Zabuza!'_

Naruto sat up, wincing as his back popped painfully and his muscles screamed in pain.

'_Yeah… Definitely would be useful to use against others in a fight…'_

Limping forward, he shook his head and a few twigs fell out of his hair.

Stretching a bit, he felt more joints pop than he felt should pop.

"I'm lucky I wasn't impaled on some sharp branch…"

Looking forward, he saw a flurry of shuriken fly towards him.

Flinging himself to the side, Naruto withdrew his own shuriken and targeted who had thrown them at him.

'_Gotcha…'_ he thought as he located twelve Bunshin burst through the trees, all of them wielding kunai.

Naruto ran through the seals for the great fireball technique.

"Round two, starts now…"

* * *

Sasuke woke up early that morning to find that the room he was supposed to be sharing with Naruto, contained only him.

'_Where the hell is the Dobe?'_ he wondered as he remembered he never heard him come in the night before.

Standing up, he picked up his kunai holster that lay next to his futon along with his ninja pouch.

He attached them and walked out of the room to head downstairs, where the smell of eggs wafted up and beckoned him.

In the kitchen sat Kakashi who was back to reading his orange book full of smut.

Nodding to his sensei, he sat down at the table and grabbed a plate off the small stack for the guests. In the middle of the table was a platter of scrambled eggs, rice and toast.

Shrugging at the odd combination, he helped himself to a decent portion before slowly eating.

"Ready for another day of tree climbing?" Kakashi asked enthusiastically as he peered over the top of his book.

Sasuke didn't bother answering or even glancing at his sensei.

"I'll take that as a yes" Kakashi said as he resumed reading his book.

"So where is Naruto?" Tazuna asked as he entered the room. "I didn't hear him come in last night."

Kakashi lowered his book. "I'm sure he'll be fine… He may be the type to over do it, but he won't be caught off guard. If he were in trouble, I'm sure he would send one of his clones to inform us."

Tazuna grunted as he walked upstairs to retrieve something while Sasuke stopped eating for a moment.

"You sure the Dobe hasn't gotten himself killed?" he asked.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Worried about our maverick ninja are we?"

Sasuke turned and glared at his sensei. Chuckling Kakashi went on reading while speaking to his student.

"Naruto probably just tired himself out by training and just slept outside… I wouldn't worry about him."

Sasuke sat for a moment before continuing with his meal.

A few minutes later, Sakura emerged from upstairs, her hair combed, and a fresh outfit on.

"Morning…" she grumbled.

Kakashi waved nonchalantly as he continued reading his book. She sat down next to Sasuke, annoyingly close, and reached for her own plate.

She only took a small amount, a look of sadness in her eyes as she did so.

Sasuke raised an eye at this which Sakura caught out of the corner of her eye. She leaned over and whispered to him.

"I'm guessing you haven't gone into town…" Sasuke shook his head.

Sakura sighed. "It's horrible… It's a dump. Gato really did a number on this place. People are on the streets, looking for work, starving… It's tragic… I just wish we could help them all."

"We are though…" Sasuke whispered back. "By protecting Tazuna and helping him complete the bridge, we are helping this country."

Sakura smiled softly. '_True…'_ She then noticed just how close she was to Sasuke, the love of her life. Blushing, she mentally started cheering.

'_HA! Take that Ino-pig!!!'_

'_**Shannaro!!! She'll never be able to get this close to Sasuke-kun!!!'**_

The noise of the front door banging open scared Sakura as she jumped up out of her seat while Sasuke withdrew a kunai, expecting an assassin to have come for Tazuna.

"Ah, here's our third member" Kakashi said as he turned a page.

Sasuke relaxed when Kakashi said this, knowing that Kakashi wasn't easily fooled. He had definitely proven that a few days prior.

However, Sasuke received a shock when a bloody and beaten Naruto staggered in the kitchen.

He noticed that he was limping slightly and he was holding his right arm.

His eye was swollen as if he'd been hit there repeatidly and dried blood littered his outfit.

"What the hell happened to you Naruto?!" Sakura exclaimed when she saw the blonde.

"hm? Oh, nothing… Do I smell eggs?" he asked weakly as he sat down at the table next to Kakashi who laid a plate in front of his student.

The plate was already loaded with at least two portions of eggs, rice, and toast.

"Thanks…" was all Naruto said before devouring his meal in the blink of an eye.

"How was training?" Kakashi asked as he read a particularly explicit scene, causing him to blush slightly and suppress a giggle.

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened when they heard him ask about training.

As soon as Naruto swallowed, he looked over at Kakashi.

"I've definitely got a lot of work to do… Found a ton of holes in my Taijutsu that I need to fix, and evading some Jutsu would help… I need to work on my hand seal speed to get through Jutsu faster as well as building up chakra…"

Kakashi nodded as he turned the page again while Sasuke listened intently to Naruto's assessment of the various things that needed to be improved.

"Chakra control can always be better, and distinguishing between different chakra signatures…"

Kakashi stopped reading at this while Naruto continued on with his list.

'_He can sense chakra signatures at his age?'_

"Naruto…" Kakashi interrupted. Naruto stopped speaking and looked at Kakashi in confusion.

"You can sense chakra signatures?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I mean… When they're close enough I can sense who it is and all… But when I'm against a bunch of people, their chakra just seems to blend together and become indistinguishable."

Kakashi rubbed his chin as he thought.

'_So… Naruto has sensory abilities… I could try and get an ANBU to try teaching him a bit more when we get back to Konoha… But I think for now, Naruto should focus on his combat skills… He's already developing well without assistance, I may as well see how he does with developing that…'_

"Well, it seems you have a special skill Naruto… Having sensory type abilities makes you one of few Shinobi." Naruto's expression turned from tired to joyous at this news.

"Although, you definitely need refining on it… Most sensory type Shinobi can sense other chakra signatures from a distance and some of the more talented can sense whether they're human or not."

Naruto listened attentively, not wanting to miss any information on what he may be able to do at one point.

"For now, keep up the training as you see fit. If, I see that those sensory abilities are not improving much, I can get one of my associates from ANBU to help you out."

Naruto gave Kakashi a wide grin. "Thanks a ton sensei!!!"

Sasuke glared at the blonde at this revelation. '_Everyday, something else is revealed about this Dobe! He's better than I've given him credit for…'_

Sakura was in slight disbelief at the moment. '_Naruto is… a unique type of Shinobi? Sensory?... What the hell is going on? He used to be the talent less Dobe of the academy and now… He's teaching Sasuke and I things and helping Kakashi fight Jonin level missing nins…'_

Without a word, Sasuke wheeled around and left the house, intent on finishing the chakra control exercise.

Sakura remained where she was, listening to Naruto and Kakashi talk to each other.

"What else do you think you need to work on?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, stealth I'm alright on currently… I mean, I've been able to avoid ANBU and mobs since I was a small child."

Kakashi glanced at Sakura quickly before returning his gaze to Naruto.

'_Mobs?'_ Sakura wondered.

"More Ninjutsu never hurt anybody…" Naruto added. Kakashi chuckled at that.

"It doesn't matter how many Jutsu you have at your disposal… A man with a thousand Jutsu can be killed with a well aimed kunai…" Kakashi said wisely.

Naruto shrugged as he laid his head on the table.

"Yeah, but having a few more Jutsu doesn't hurt my chances."

Kakashi said nothing, after all, he was the man that had copied over a thousand Jutsu. He really wasn't one to talk.

"Wait… You got like this from training?" Sakura asked incredulously.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah… Just got into a no holds fight with about two hundred Kage Bunshin…"

Not only did Sakura's eyes widen, but Kakashi stared at Naruto, one visible eye slightly widened in surprise.

'_Never ceases to amaze me…'_ Kakashi simply thought as he resumed his novel.

* * *

Sasuke dropped from the tree, kunai in hand. '_This is getting redundant…'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he looked at the tall tree in front of him.

He decided on using a new tree and to track that specific day's progress.

Gritting his teeth, he focused chakra into the soles of his feet until he felt comfortable. Without another thought, he ran for the tree and rocketed up the towering monument of nature.

He reached where his last mark was when he felt himself starting to slip yet again.

"Dammit…" he growled as he pushed himself a few feet further from his last mark.

Feeling gravity begin to pull him back towards the ground, he used the kunai to slash the bark.

He landed cat like on the ground and looked back up at the newest slash in the bark.

'_At least I'm making progress…'_ Sasuke thought with a slight grin before continuing on.

* * *

Naruto was sound asleep, and already looking better than he had earlier that day.

Sakura sighed as she closed his bedroom door and went back downstairs.

It wasn't her choice to check up on Naruto, but Tazuna's and Kakashi's. It seemed that Tazuna was going to take Naruto with him today and Sakura would be stuck with Kakashi, waiting for Sasuke to finish training.

She reached the kitchen to find it empty. Frowning, she went to the next room where she found Tazuna reading over Kakashi's shoulder.

"I always did find these books to be interesting… Tsunami, however, would always find the book no matter where I hid and she would always get rid of it… I never got past the part where they start to…"

At this point Sakura coughed loudly to interrupt the old man before she heard anything to horrific.

Plus, it helped announce her presence, but it was mostly for the former reason.

"Naruto is still sound asleep" she said.

"Good… When he wakes up, he'll probably want to start training as soon as he can… Too bad" Kakashi said as he continued on with his book.

"Why is he training so hard?" she asked suddenly. She watched Kakashi, expecting him to say something along the lines of 'oh he's just being a boy…' or something close to that.

The answer she received, scared her senseless.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to talk to you and Sasuke about that… Well, Naruto wants to be ready when he fights Zabuza and that 'Hunter-nin' when they come after us."

Sakura chuckled, not fully comprehending what Kakashi had just told her while Tazuna looked horrified. Suddenly, the statement hit Sakura like a brick wall.

"Wait… Isn't Zabuza dead though?" she asked quickly.

Kakashi shook his head. "I doubt it… As Naruto and I both figured out, Hunter-nin from Kirigakure are supposed to only take the head of the victim back with them to prove that the Nuke-nin has been taken care of… This 'Hunter-nin' decided to take the entire body with him while procedure says to take the head and burn the body where it fell…"

Sakura's eyes widened. "So the Hunter-nin was in league with Zabuza?" she asked fearfully.

Kakashi nodded. "Like I told Naruto, I should have checked for a pulse, although I doubt I would have found one…"

"Why not?" Tazuna asked. It was Sakura that answered the old man as she realized what Kakashi had meant.

"Senbon needles!!! They struck Zabuza in the neck and I remember reading somewhere that if you strike someone in a specific nerve, that it will put that person in a deathlike state!"

Kakashi nodded. "The boy was good… That's why Naruto is training… The boy was probably trained by Zabuza, who is an extremely powerful Shinobi that shows no mercy."

"Then why am I not training?" Sakura asked Kakashi angrily.

Kakashi looked over at her blankly before answering in a simple tone.

"Naruto is training of his own accord and Sasuke is still trying to get through the training you've completed. I would suggest that you train when you can, but it's ultimately up to the Shinobi or Kunoichi to train themselves."

Sakura had the decency to blush at this statement as Kakashi returned to reading his smut.

* * *

Naruto woke after about ten hours of sleep. From the position of the sun, Naruto could tell that evening was approaching and that he had just missed an entire day.

Groaning, Naruto sat up on his futon and surveyed the room. Next to him were his clothes that he had trained in the night before. They had been washed, but there were a few holes and tears from the harsh fighting he had endured.

Shrugging, Naruto shed his pajamas and threw the clothes on. He walked towards the door before realizing something.

'_Where the hell is my jacket?' _He thought back for a moment before remembering that he had left it in the kitchen when he had left.

Smiling in relief, he walked out of the room and downstairs.

"Welcome to the land of the living" Kakashi's voice rang from the other room.

Looking around the kitchen that he had entered, he tried to locate his jacket.

'_It's not in here…'_ he thought angrily.

"Kakashi!" Naruto called as he exited the kitchen and entered the room Kakashi was seated along with Sakura and Tazuna. Inari sat in the corner, looking out the window wistfully.

"Do you know where my jacket is?" he asked.

"Right here" Tsunami said as she entered the room as well. She held his jacket up and handed it to him. "I just found it in the kitchen and thought you might like it if I washed it."

Naruto bowed to the woman. "Thanks Tsunami-san, but you really didn't have to…"

Tsunami smiled at the Genin. "It's a small way to repay you for protecting my father."

Tazuna interrupted any reply Naruto had in store.

"So, Naruto! Will you be able to come and help out at the bridge tomorrow? Your clones really did help make some progress the other day!"

Naruto smiled. "Sure, it's no problem! I get to learn about construction that way! Make any progress today?"

Tazuna shook his head. "I didn't go today. I was hoping to take you again! With you on board, we could finish the bridge completely in two weeks!!!"

Naruto gave Tazuna a thumbs up. "Well, I'll be sure to help out tomorrow!"

Tazuna laughed enthusiastically at this. Sakura said nothing as she remembered how much help Naruto had been the other day at the bridge.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna walked through the small streets of the town.

'_This place is a dump…'_ Naruto thought as he looked at the empty, broken down buildings.

A stranger or two would eye the group hungrily before scurrying off from the glare Naruto gave them.

At one point, Naruto deemed it necessary to hold a kunai in plain view when one man had attempted to take something from Sakura's pouch… He had ultimately failed and accidentally brushed against her ass, setting her off in a violent tantrum that had left the poor soul bloody and beaten.

Naruto grinned at that. '_Sometimes, Sakura can really pack a wallop'._

They reached the beginning of the construction sight where rusted cranes were in use.

There were many men there, carrying various objects from wood, to concrete slabs.

Tazuna continued through the mess of a construction.

"It seems unorganized, but we're making terrific progress!" Tazuna yelled over a drilling noise.

Naruto nodded. "How long have you been building?!" he asked/yelled.

"About three months!" answered the old man.

Naruto's eyebrows rose. '_That's impressive… I may not know much about construction, but the gap between the land of fire and Nami no Kuni is pretty large…'_

"How much longer do you think until it'll be finished?" Naruto asked.

"I'd say a month or two at this rate!" Tazuna yelled as the drilling noise ceased.

Naruto thought for a moment as they continued on. "Want to cut that time in half?" he asked with a devilish grin plastered on his face.

"How?" Tazuna asked. '_I've seen what these Shinobi can do, and I'm not going to disregard their advice!'_ thought the old man as he remembered the sheer power behind the fight with Zabuza.

Grinning like a maniac, Naruto formed the cross seal.

"**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**"

A few men that were walking by dropped the items that they were carrying when a large army of blonde's appeared in front of them.

"Manuel labor is my specialty!" Naruto exclaimed loudly as the Bunshin cheered around them.

Tazuna's eyes were popping out of his head and his jaw had dropped.

It took him a few minutes to recover and a Naruto shaking him gently.

"T…Tazuna-san? Are you alright?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"What? Oh! YES! I definitely could use you and your…"

"Just call them clones!" Naruto said.

Tazuna nodded as he glanced at the many Naruto's.

'_This boy… is a miracle…'_ thought the middle aged man.

_**Flashback ends**_

* * *

"So where's Sasuke-Teme?" Naruto asked cheekily.

Tazuna suppressed a chuckle while Tsunami glared slightly at the blonde.

"Oh, he's still out there training I believe…" Kakashi said as he flipped through his book.

Naruto nodded as he put his jacket on.

"Well, I guess I'll go out and drag him back" Naruto said as he walked towards the front door.

"You going to train tonight?" asked the silver haired Jonin.

Naruto shrugged. "I may as well if we're going to fight Zabuza again. I want to be prepared."

"Just don't over do it again…" Kakashi sighed.

Naruto grinned. "I'll try not to."

Naruto walked out of the house and felt a cool breeze hit his face.

'_I really do like the smell of the ocean wafting on the breeze…'_ Naruto thought serenely.

Naruto then ran forward before jumping into the trees and using the branches to travel faster than if he walked.

He leapt from branch to branch, barely making any noise as he did so.

He looked over at the sun that approached the western horizon.

'_About another two hours of sunlight… yippee!'_ he thought to himself. '_Teme had better be where he was last night if he knows what is best…'_

Another minute or two of tree hoping, he found the clearing where they had all been training and sure enough, there was an exhausted Uchiha.

Naruto landed next to the crouching raven haired Genin.

"How's the progress?" Naruto asked as he looked at one of the trees.

"..I… made it… to the… top…" Sasuke panted.

Naruto nodded. "Nice… How long ago?" he asked.

"About two hours ago" answered the Uchiha.

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, you definitely got it faster than I did. I'm guessing you're trying it by just walking now?"

Sasuke nodded. "I need to get stronger."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. "I'm guessing for revenge against your brother, Itachi, right?"

Sasuke seemed to gain a second wind, for the moment Itachi's name came escaped from Naruto's lips, he was attacking Naruto.

Naruto jumped back, barely avoiding Sasuke's fist.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What the fuck was that for?"

Sasuke panted as he clenched his fist, a trickle of blood appearing and leaking from his hand.

"How… how do you know about that?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto stared at Sasuke. "It's not really a big secret about how your clan was killed Sasuke… The big hint was the day we first met as a team. You stated you wanted to kill a certain man and I can easily guess who that man is."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "…I need to get stronger." Sasuke looked Naruto straight in the eye, fire behind his eyes.

Naruto grinned. "Determination is one of the best tools a Shinobi can have… That's what a friend of mine once told me."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto. "I was told that hatred was a Shinobi's greatest way of becoming strong."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"Who the hell told you that?" he asked curiously.

Sasuke's mind seemed to drift off, thinking of the past, the moment he had heard those words.

"Sasuke…?" Naruto snapped his fingers in front of the Uchiha's face, bringing him back to reality.

"…Him…" he said simply.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. "You mean your brother?"

Sasuke nodded. Naruto stayed silent at this answer. "Why did he tell you that?"

"He told me, in order to become strong enough to face him… to kill him… that I would need hatred."

Naruto shook his head. "That doesn't really sound true to me."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto. The blonde was the first person he had told this, and he didn't know what had urged him to inform Naruto of what his brother had said, but he felt… compelled.

Yet, here he was, countering Itachi's advice that he had given him.

"How would you know?!" Sasuke said heatedly.

Naruto sat down and patted the ground in front of him. Sasuke hesitated, but sat down none the less.

"Think about all of the greatest Shinobi from the hidden leaf… The four Hokages for example… All of them were peace loving individuals. I've never heard of any of them using hatred to gain power, and they were some of the most powerful Shinobi of all time."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in surprise. '_He does have a point…'_

Naruto continued on. "Plus, who's to say Itachi used hatred to get to his level? He may be strong, but is he as strong as the Sannin, or the Yondaime?"

Sasuke pondered on Naruto's words for a bit before Naruto stood up.

"I'm going back to Tazuna's, and you should come to… One last thing though… If Itachi killed your whole clan, do you really think he wants you to become strong enough to kill him of something? He probably told you that whole hatred crap to hinder you… Just saying."

Sasuke's eye widened. '_…T…That's possible! Why would he want me to kill him? He's evil enough to do that…'_

Gritting his teeth at how gullible he had been, he stood up just as Naruto began walking away.

Looking at the blonde he continued wondering. '_Naruto has been getting stronger, at an amazing rate… He isn't using his hatred to get stronger, just determination…'_

Sasuke turned and looked at the tree he had scaled. '_I will get stronger Itachi, just not the way you think…'_ With that thought, he followed Naruto back to the house.

* * *

The following morning found Sakura watching as Sasuke nodded a greeting to Naruto which was politely returned.

Said incident caused Sakura's jaw to drop. '_They're friends?! How the hell did that happen?'_

Naruto sat down, no words exchanged as he grabbed some breakfast consisting of cooked fish and rice.

Kakashi smiled behind his book at the two male Genin and their new interactions.

'_It seems as if the team work of squad seven may improve'_ he thought to himself with a chuckle.

The Genin ignored Kakashi's chuckle as they had become accustomed to his perverted reading which entailed, chuckling and giggling at seemingly random moments.

Finishing his meal, Naruto stood up.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked as he looked over at the blonde Genin.

"Just some light training. You three can come with if you want!" he suggested with a hopeful smile.

Kakashi shook his head. "I'll be alright… I'm still recovering and if I know Gai, you've probably picked up some of his habits that don't involve his dress code.

Naruto pouted. "What's so bad about how the dress?"

Kakashi actually set his book on the table and glared at Naruto.

"I'm not going to go into extreme detail here, but no student of mine shall EVER wear those monstrosities."

Naruto sighed. "Fine... Sasuke, Sakura? Either of you two wanna go for some light training?"

Sasuke shrugged as he stood up, his meal finished. "May as well…"

Sakura hesitated for a moment before leaping to her feet. "Same here!"

Naruto grinned. "All right! Hope you two can keep up then!"

Sasuke grinned, after all, light training was always easy… right?

* * *

_**Translations**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_**Goken**_ - Iron fist

_**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_** – **Multi Shadow Clone Technique

_**Fūton: Daitoppa**_** - **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

_**Suiton: Hahonryū**_** - **Water Release: Tearing Torrent

_**Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu**_** - **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

* * *

_**Now, to answer a few, questions and requests. **_

_**1. NO!!! I am NOT getting rid of Sakura. She's part of squad seven and I'm not going to break it up just because people want me to… I've gotten a lot of messages asking me to do so and I absolutely refuse to do so.**_

_**2. This is NOT a Sakura bashing fanfiction… Yes, she and Naruto don't get along, but she isn't always going to be yelling at him constantly… She is a smart girl to an extent, yet in many ways stupid. **_

_**3. Naruto's original affinity is wind… And I intend on keeping it that way. I will be using the canon Naruto to set things up, so he will not have fire or water affinities… I believe, that one were to train hard enough in a certain affinity, that they can use techniques from that affinity. Orochimaru doesn't have all five elemental affinities, yet he's trying to gain knowledge of all Jutsu… I'm sure he can use multiple affinities. Another example is Kakashi. In the anime, he's used lightning, earth, fire, water… Don't know if he has used wind, but I'm sure as he has copied over a thousand techniques, that he has a few Futon Jutsu.**_

_**4. No requesting Sasuke to not go to Orochimaru… please? If it happens it happens… **_

_**5. This is a Naruto and Ino ONLY!!! I'm not adding anyone to this romance to satisfy your cravings for a harem or because you prefer that pairing. I've marked this as a NaruIno fic and that's what I'm going to write. Sorry if I'm a deuchebag because of it… but that's how it goes. **_

* * *

_**If you DO have any requests or comments that do not involve the things I have addressed, then feel free to message me or leave it in a review for all to see.**_

_**Oh, and if you don't like the length, then I'm sorry… I really am, but I prefer longer chapters compared to shorter chapters. Just something I enjoy and I will continue to do… **_

_**Anyways, as always REVIEW!!!! My sanity depends on it more than it has before… Which is very strange indeed…**_

_**Anyways, hope you all have a wonderful and drunk Halloween evening. I know my fiancé and I will! Hehehehe! DRUNKEN DEBACHERY COMENCES NOW!!!**_


	5. Demons

_**Hello my loyal, an unloyal fans!!! I have returned!!! I have brought you earthworm babies a chapter to enjoy!!! Sorry, was watching Invader Zim…**_

_**Well, here is the chapter that was originally going to be included in chapter 4, but it got way too fucking long so I split the chapters… Now, I do go a slightly different route here, so you're going to have to deal cause I'm not changing it… Mean ole me, right?**_

_**So, I hope you enjoy this, and if you don't, well that sucks…**_

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… Sad for me… :'(**_

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_**Demons**_

Sasuke stumbled through the front door of Tazuna's house. His breath was ragged and his clothes were dirty and drenched in sweat and blood.

Sakura was in the front room when Sasuke stumbled in and was the first to notice him.

"Sasuke-kun!!!" she exclaimed in horror. She rushed forward to try and help him as he slowly staggered forward, but Sasuke pushed her aside.

Biting her lip, she tried to reach out to help him only to be shoved back by Sasuke without a word.

He limped into the kitchen to find Kakashi talking to Tazuna. The Jonin glanced over at Sasuke and nodded.

Tazuna stared at the Uchiha for a moment before reacting fully.

"What the hell happened to you!? Was it Zabuza and his kid?!"

Sasuke shook his head. Kakashi chuckled.

"Don't worry so much Tazuna-san, it was just Naruto." Sakura and Tazuna's jaws dropped.

Sasuke flopped into a chair and rested his head on the table.

"That's why I didn't feel like joining in on the training, I know how that routine is thanks to a certain… acquaintance of mine."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, glad that she wasn't able to keep up with the two when they ran off at full speed through the forest. She had decided that it would be best for her to stay and help Tsunami with dinner rather than try and find her two team mates who were long gone.

Seeing this however, made her wonder what kind of condition her blonde team mate was in if Sasuke was this bad.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he remembered the 'light' exercise as Naruto had put it. There was nothing light about it to Sasuke. They had started by sprinting through the forest for an hour at least, not ever decreasing speed. Sasuke had done his best to keep up, but found that afterwards, he had very little energy left to do much else.

That's when Naruto had taken it slow a bit and ran through a few Katas for his Taijutsu. Sasuke, not wanting to seem like a slacker, had done the same with his own style, while keeping a close eye on the blonde Genin.

The style was one that Sasuke was not too familiar with. He was sure that he had seen a few clan members use a few of the stances and forms that Naruto was performing, but not the entire style Naruto was using.

Then, Naruto suggested some sparring. This is where everything took a wrong turn for Sasuke.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

Sasuke smirked when Naruto asked him for a spar. '_The Dobe is dumber than I remembered.'_

"Fine by me, just be sure not to be too upset when I beat you."

Naruto said nothing as he struck a strange pose.

His legs seemed locked and his left arm was folded behind his back while his right arm was held in front of him, palm up.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. '_I've never seen that stance… But what's the purpose of it? There are openings everywhere, and it doesn't look like he'll be able to use anything to surprise me with.'_

Sasuke bolted forward, intending on bringing Naruto to his knees when the blonde seemed to vanish from sight.

The next thing Sasuke knew was pain flashing through his skull as Naruto appeared next to him, bringing his elbow down on Sasuke's head.

Sasuke recovered quickly as he swept at Naruto's feet to try and unbalance him.

Naruto jumped back and landed before bolting towards a rising Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he was forced to dodge and block a hurricane of punches and kicks.

'_When the hell did he get this good?!'_ Sasuke wondered as he blocked a ruthless roundhouse kick that rattled his arm.

Then, Sasuke noticed the hole in Naruto's offense.

'_Left side!'_ was the Uchiha's only thought as he kicked out.

He caught Naruto in the ribs and flung him a side.

He didn't fly far, and was back on Sasuke again.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. '_Looks like I need to stop playing around! The Dobe is much better than I thought.'_

Pushing himself, Sasuke began to fight back. Naruto's eyes widened before grinning.

'_He's definitely not Lee, but he's fucking good…For a Teme.'_

Naruto lashed out with another roundhouse kick only to have Sasuke dodge under it.

'_FUCK!'_ thought Naruto.

Sasuke's fist connected with Naruto's stomach, lifting him off the ground slightly.

'_Did Naruto get heavier since the Academy?'_ Sasuke wondered as he flung Naruto back.

Wincing, Naruto rubbed his throbbing stomach.

"Nice move there, Teme."

Sasuke glared at him. "Like I thought, you're not much of a Shinobi. Still just a loser."

Naruto clenched his fist. '_A Shinobi must control his emotions…'_ Naruto recited.

Breathing in, Naruto felt Sasuke's chakra fluctuate.

Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke went through the seals for a familiar Jutsu.

Naruto sloppily did the same seals, pumping chakra as he did so. Sasuke's eyes widened at Naruto's actions.

Both breathed in at the same time before simultaneously releasing the flames of their Jutsu.

"**Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!**" The two fireballs met in the middle, battling for dominance before they both contorted and exploded.

Fire was everywhere as both Genin were flung back and slammed against trees.

The explosion died down and both Genin stared at each other.

'_When the hell did he learn that Ninjutsu?!'_ Sasuke thought angrily.

Naruto panted slightly. "I put a lot of chakra into that technique and he it still wasn't enough." Naruto had felt the amount of chakra Sasuke had used and compared to Naruto's it wasn't that much.

Sasuke stood up and glared at the Uzumaki. '_What the hell is going on?! The Dobe is improving so much! He's even catching up to me!'_

Without another thought, Sasuke focused chakra into his feet and ran at full speed towards his team mate, intending on ending the fight.

Naruto quickly noticed and ran through his options.

'_Do what Lee would do…'_ Naruto thought with a grin.

Sasuke's eyes widened when Naruto vanished from view again.

'_Where the hell is…'_ His thought was interrupted when he felt Naruto's foot crashing into his jaw and launching him upwards.

Sasuke felt his mouth fill with blood as he bit the side of his tongue painfully.

Naruto watched as Sasuke fell back to the ground painfully.

'_Wow… That worked really fucking well!'_ thought the blonde as he started to walk towards the Uchiha.

"Nice Teme! You're really good!"

"SHUT IT!" Sasuke yelled as he staggered to his feet, his hand at his jaw.

Naruto stopped where he was and stared at his raven haired team mate.

"What the hell!? I was just saying that you're really good and you gave me a run for my money!" Naruto yelled back.

Glaring, Sasuke turned around and walked back to Tazuna's.

_**Flashback end**_

* * *

Sasuke gritted his teeth before wincing from the effects of Naruto's kick.

'_I need to get stronger… Strong enough to beat Naruto… Strong enough to kill Itachi.'_

Naruto's words seemed to float to him from the other day at this thought.

'_I was a fool to think Itachi wanted me to kill him… Everyone values their lives. Why the hell would Itachi want me to kill him…? He was hindering me… Hatred…'_

Sasuke raised his head and scowled at the table. '_I need to get stronger…'_

Without a word, he slowly rose to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked politely as he brought his little orange book out.

"…training…" Sasuke replied before slowly walking back outside.

Sakura said nothing as Sasuke passed her wordlessly.

* * *

Naruto unleashed a flurry of strikes against the tree in front of him.

'_Fuck the Teme… I try to be nice and that's what happens?! Fuck that!'_

With every strike against the tree, bark would splinter or shatter, leaving parts of the tree bare.

'_Every time I'm nice to one of those two, it always bites me in the ass.'_

Naruto jumped up and preformed Konoha Senpū. The results would normally please Naruto, but he took no notice of the large indentations in the tree.

Naruto continued on with pummeling the tree in front of him, not letting up even though his knuckles were beginning to ache and bleed.

'_It's just like most of Konoha, always labeling me a delinquent, or a demon…'_

Naruto jumped back from the tree only for him to charge it again with renewed vigor.

'_Fucking Kyubi… All it ever does is hinder me… Some Jinchuriki I am!'_

With that final thought, Naruto used a palm strike that shook the entire tree violently.

Breathing heavily, Naruto slightly grinned at this point when he finally noticed his results. '_Focusing chakra can help strengthen my strikes.'_ However, pain shot through Naruto's palm. He turned his hand over and looked at his open hand. His eyebrows shot up when he saw burns covering his palm.

'…_D…Did the chakra actually burn me?'_ he wondered as he flexed his hand only to wince as pain shot through it again.

Sighing, Naruto looked up at the sky to see the morning was ending.

"Better get back so that we can go to the bridge" Naruto said to himself.

* * *

Gato yelped as Haku gripped his arm tightly. He felt the bones where the boy was gripping him snap loudly.

The two Samurai behind him went for their swords only to have their blades held to their necks by the young boy.

"Never, lay a hand on Zabuza-sama… Or I'll kill you all."

The two Samurai shivered at the killer intent coming from Haku while Gato backed away slightly before regaining his composure.

"Just, keep me in the loop from now on! I want that bridge builder dead!!!"

Haku dropped the two Katanas while walking past the three men.

Waraji and Zori gathered their blades, glaring at the Shinobi then retreated after their master.

Gato grumbled as he walked away from their room. "Damn Missing-nin…" He mumbled as he cradled his now broken arm.

"I'll make sure that they both die when they've finished their jobs…"

The two samurai grinned at this, knowing of Gato's plan from the very beginning.

What could go wrong?!

* * *

Naruto and Tazuna returned that evening from the bridge, both in high spirits.

"That was funny when Ichigo-baka nearly dropped the beam onto those clones when he heard about how pissed you were!" Naruto roared with laughter as he said this.

"I know what you mean! I'm glad we've all been getting this work done! It's lifting the mood quite a bit!"

The two of them sat at the kitchen table eating dinner as Sasuke slept with his head down and Sakura shot confused glares at Naruto while concerned looks were cast towards Sasuke.

"It'll be nice when the bridge is finally done though…" Tazuna said with a smile.

Naruto nodded; however, his smile had vanished.

He glanced over at Kakashi who met eyes with him.

Naruto was pretty sure Kakashi could tell what he was thinking, but he wanted to discuss it with his sensei.

'_If Gato isn't taken care of though, he'll try and destroy the bridge… Then all this work will have been for nothing.'_ the blonde thought.

He had to ask Kakashi if there was a way they could arrest him, or… Naruto didn't want to think much on the other option, but he knew that it was there.

"I'm glad you Shinobi agreed to help protect me while this bridge is finished… It's good to have some type of hero here." Tazuna said with a calm smile.

Inari's voice cut in suddenly.

"Why do you even bother trying!? You're all just going to die!" the young boy yelled.

"Inari!" Tsunami reprimanded. Inari, however, continued.

"There are no such things as heroes! No matter what, Gato is just going to kill you for doing this!"

Naruto glared at the child while Sasuke had just woken up and glared at the boy as well.

"People who believe in heroes are just dumb!"

That was the breaking point for Naruto as he stood up, his chair falling back with a clatter.

Inari glared at the taller boy.

"So, you're saying, that those who believe in the heroes in my village are all dumb?! That our heroes aren't just that?! They're just a bunch of idiots!?" Naruto's voice was beginning to rise.

"Pretty much! Heroes don't exist! Just more idiots!" Inari yelled.

Naruto clenched his fists, and his teeth, trying to gain composure and failing epically.

"Shut the fuck up, you cry baby… You don't know anything. Kaiza was an idiot to have believed in you at all..." Naruto said as a slight amount of killer intent leaked from him.

Inari's eyes widened at this, not ever having been so forcefully insulted or even threatened. Then mention of his surrogate father however, was too much for the boy.

The boy's eyes began to well up as he ran upstairs.

"NARUTO! That was uncalled for!!!" Sakura yelled as she stood up as well. '_Who the hell is Kaiza?!'_ she wondered.

Sasuke said nothing as he glanced at the pink haired girl and the blonde haired boy.

"The same goes for you Sakura" Naruto said as he walked out of the kitchen and then the house.

Kakashi sighed. '_Never mind what I thought about them getting along…'_

Tsunami apologized to the remainder of squad seven profusely.

Kakashi just shrugged and took the apology.

That's when Tazuna decided to tell them why Inari felt this way.

Starting with how Inari had gained a father, a man named Kaiza, someone who had saved him and the entire village. He had been a hero.

Then, Kaiza had opposed Gato, and was made of an example of and publicly executed.

"I take it that Naruto already knows?" Kakashi asked. '_It would explain why he mentioned the name Kaiza.'_

Tazuna nodded. "I told him a few days ago when he asked why Inari seemed like, and I quote, 'has a stick shoved up his ass that just won't come out…'"

Kakashi chuckled and Sasuke even smirked at this comment.

Tazuna shook his head, a smile gracing his lips.

"I'll tell you now; Naruto doesn't seem like the sympathetic type."

Kakashi nodded. "He's had a difficult life… I believe that he thinks Inari should be more grateful with what he has… A mother and a grandfather."

Kakashi hesitated before continuing.

"Naruto has been alone his entire life, just cast aside by the village. He had no friends when growing up and no family to take care of him. Yet, he can have such a positive attitude, when he wants to be that way…"

Tazuna chuckled. "I wouldn't have guessed that with how the runt acts."

Kakashi shrugged as he stood up. "I'll go apologize to Inari for Naruto. I'm sure he feels bad… a bit."

Kakashi limped on his crutches past Sasuke, who was deep in thought.

'_Why would Konoha do that?'_ He wondered as he thought of his blonde team mate. '_Strange…'_

* * *

Naruto was back in the forest, holding nothing back as he trained harder than before.

'_Fucking brat! Doesn't realize just how well off he is!'_

Naruto ran through the hand seals for his great fireball technique.

Not noticing just how much chakra was in the technique, he let it loose upon the forest, incinerating most things in its path before dispersing. Many trees were still on fire when the Jutsu ended, which caused Naruto to grind his teeth in frustration.

Focusing and molding chakra in his left hand he used the mist hanging in the air to provide the water for his Suiton: Hahonryū.

Again, he didn't notice just how large of an amount of chakra he had put into the Jutsu as he unleashed the Jutsu on the trees.

While the fire was extinguished, the Jutsu also smashed through trees, causing them to buckle and crash to the ground loudly.

Naruto cut the flow of chakra and fell to his knees, exhausted and his stomach burning once again.

'…_Didn't… mean… for that… to…'_ Naruto couldn't complete his thought as he passed out from the lack of chakra.

* * *

Haku smiled as he picked herbs in a small clearing as birds twittered happily. A few brave fowls actually landed near the serene boy and tilted their small heads side to side curiously.

Haku chuckled as he stood up and continued forward to find a few more necessary things to speed up Zabuza's recovery when he saw a charred and splintered tree on the ground.

Raising an eyebrow, he knelt down next to it and inspected it.

'_Ninjutsu… Not more than twelve hours ago…'_ He looked up and raised an eyebrow when he saw the boy that had struck Zabuza with that water Jutsu that had complicated his recovery, just lying on the ground unaware of the world around him. '_He passed out from chakra exhaustion it looks like'_ concluded Haku as he glanced at the fallen trees.

Haku approached slowly, gazing at the unconscious blonde and reached forward slowly.

Naruto's eyes snapped open when he felt a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake.

"Hey, you'll catch a cold if you stay out here much longer."

Naruto shook his head as he sat up and stared at the pretty girl that had just shaken him awake.

"Um…hi" Naruto said as he yawned slightly.

Haku gave Naruto a perplexed look and shook it off as he smiled at the boy.

"What are you doing out here?" Haku asked Naruto.

Naruto looked around the clearing and moaned. "Uh… Training… I'm sure you noticed by the Hitai-ate that I'm a Shinobi."

Haku blinked and asked cheekily, "Are you a strong Shinobi?"

Naruto was taken aback by the question. A few months ago, he would have declared that he was the best there was and that nobody could stand in his way… But now, he was different, more mature.

"Are you kidding?! I'm going to be the best Shinobi in my village! I'm going to become the Hokage!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist into the air.

Haku giggled at this. "Well, I suppose a strong Shinobi such as you wouldn't mind helping a civilian such as myself pick some medical herbs, would you?"

Naruto grinned. "No problem!"

* * *

Sasuke woke up early, and still Kakashi was downstairs before him, slowly doing pushups on one finger.

"93…94…Good morning Sasuke, 95…"

Sasuke grunted as he walked past the Jonin and out the door for some training.

'_Looks like Naruto got under his skin a bit…'_ Kakashi thought at 98.

* * *

"So why are you picking these things again?" Naruto asked as he examined one of the plants that they had been picking for an over an hour.

Haku stared off for a moment as he thought of when he was rescued by Zabuza.

"Do you, have anyone precious to you?" Haku asked suddenly.

Naruto blinked. "…Say again?"

"Do you have a precious person?" Haku repeated. "Someone you would do anything for? No matter what the consequences are?"

Naruto thought for a moment, pondering the meaning of the question, not realizing how much of an impact it would have on him for the remainder of his life. As he thought about it, faces began to materialize in Naruto's mind.

'_Jii-san, Iruka-sensei, Ichiraku-jiji, Ayame-chan, Kakashi-sensei, even the Teme…'_

Naruto smiled as he nodded. "Yeah… I do… I would do anything for them no matter the cost!" he declared with such power and vigor that Haku was slightly taken a back.

Haku smiled as his hair covered his eyes.

"Then… you really shall become strong…" he said quietly as he stood up.

Naruto looked confused. "Do you have enough herbs ma'am?"

Haku's smile turned slightly mischievous. "Yes I do… Thank you Naruto-kun… I must go now…" Haku turned and walked away before stopping for a moment.

"Oh, and I'm a boy." With that said, Haku continued walking away, leaving a shocked Naruto in his wake.

'_NO FUCKING WAY!!! THAT CHICK IS A DUDE!!! HE'S GIRLIER THAN SAKURA!!!"_

Sasuke walked past the boy, glancing back at him before looking back at a gaping Naruto.

'_What's wrong with the Dobe?'_

* * *

_**One week later….**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

Kakashi smiled as he sat at the breakfast table that morning. "I take it Naruto is still out training?" he asked Sasuke.

The raven haired Uchiha nodded.

"Well, we better head off now and he can catch up when he's done then!" the Jonin said with a smile.

Tazuna grumbled again, having grown a bit closer to Naruto with their joking and working together. The blonde had been a huge help with the construction of the bridge and it was nearly completed. Another four or five days with Naruto's help, and they would be completely finished with everything.

'_Gato's hold over us will finally be broken!'_ Tazuna thought happily as they walked out of his house and towards the village.

Inari watched his grandfather walk towards work with his group of bodyguards.

The young boy had finally apologized to Naruto after hearing what Kakashi had told him.

Not having any friends or parents there to help the Genin grow up had hit a nerve with Inari.

He had felt so bad, that whenever he saw Naruto, he would try and do something to assist the blonde. Although, it annoyed Naruto at times and would end up with Naruto walking away rudely.

However, Naruto had smiled when Inari had started declaring Naruto as his brother, his Nii-san.

When his grandfather was gone from view, he went upstairs to wash his hands so that he could assist his mother with the cooking for that night.

He didn't see the two figures head towards his house from the forest.

* * *

Zabuza and Haku sat in a small rowboat beneath the large bridge.

"Humph. Not bad…" Zabuza said as he admired the structure.

Haku simply nodded as he put the Hunter-nin mask on to cover his face.

"Now then Haku, let us begin…" With that said, he dropped a communicator into the ocean below, not intending on listening to Gato bitch at him any longer.

Zabuza ran through a few hand seals.

"**Kirigakure no Jutsu!**" The mist came in quickly, surrounding the small boat as well as the workers on the bridge.

Zabuza chuckled. '_It's time for round two, Hatake Kakashi…'_

* * *

Naruto sat in the clearing meditating. Kakashi had suggested it to him to help sharpen his sensory abilities.

He could vaguely sense Kakashi and the others leaving Tazuna's house and head towards the bridge.

'_I'll meet up with them when I'm finished here…'_ thought the blonde as he tried to focus a bit more on distinguishing between each chakra signature.

With no luck, he continued meditating, even after their chakra disappeared as they moved too far for him to sense. '_At least if I concentrate, I can sense far enough to not be surprised…'_

Then, something caught his interest.

'_Who are these two?'_ He wondered as he felt two more chakra signatures appear.

He paid them only a slight bit attention until he felt that they weren't a threat. From there, he tried clearing his mind, but something seemed to be gnawing at him, something he had overlooked.

Then it struck him.

'_They're heading towards Inari and Tsunami!!!'_

* * *

Tsunami continued to struggle as the two samurai dragged her out of the house.

They had encountered Inari as well, but the woman had threatened to drown herself in her own blood if they harmed him.

So, they had taken the one prisoner, one very pretty prisoner.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun with you my dear" Waraji whispered to her.

Tsunami shivered as the man grabbed her ass.

'_Oh god… Not this…'_

The men both laughed as they began to lift her skirt when a shrill voice echoed from the entrance of the house.

"Don't touch my mommy!!!"  
The samurai sneered. "Well, we tried to let him live… oh well" Zori shrugged dramatically.

"INARI RUN!!!" Tsunami yelled.

The young boy however did not listen.

'_Grandfather, dad…Naruto… I'll be a hero as well!!!'_

Inari charged at the two Samurai as they withdrew their swords.

"Punk!" Zori yelled as he sliced the boy in half.

However, the boy vanished a puff of smoke, leaving two halves of a log.

"What the hell?" Waraji exclaimed.

"Wow… You guys really are stupid drones…" a voice said from behind them.

The two of them whirled around to find an unconscious Tsunami and Inari, protected by a blonde boy wearing a red and black jacket.

"Who the hell do you think you are kid?!" yelled Waraji.

"Just the guy who's about to kick your ass." Naruto said before disappeared in a display of speed. The two thugs hit the ground seconds later, knocked out cold.

* * *

Tazuna and Sakura gasped at the sight that greeted them when they reached the construction site of the bridge. Through the dense mist was a most gruesome sight for them.

Bodies littered the ground around them, blood splattered on the concrete.

Tazuna saw one of the bodies slowly crawling towards them. He ran to the man and turned him over.

"What the hell happened here?" Tazuna asked the injured man.

"…T…they came from… the mist… just… appeared…"

"Zabuza…" Kakashi said simply.

As if called, Zabuza's voice floated to them from the dense mist.

"Hello again Hatake Kakashi." Not far from them, Zabuza and Haku materialized from the mist.

"So the Hunter-nin was in league with you…" Kakashi said. He already knew, but he wanted to hope beyond hope.

"Looks like your short one Genin… The blonde… And the brunette, he's shaking again… Poor thing."

Sasuke grinned.

"Go ahead Sasuke" Kakashi said with a smile as they were suddenly surrounded by ten Mizu Bunshin.

Sasuke disappeared and then reappeared, kunai in each hand as the clones exploded into water.

"He's gotten better Zabuza-sama" Haku commented.

"It seems that way" Zabuza growled.

Sasuke smirked. "The reason I'm shivering isn't because I'm scared, I'm simply anxious for a rematch."

Zabuza chuckled. "The boy is fast…"

Haku nodded as he stepped forward. "We shall see just how much he has improved."

* * *

Naruto shook Inari awake, feeling embarrassed that he had been the one to knock him out in the first place.

Inari slowly opened his eyes to find a smiling Naruto.

"N…Naruto?" mumbled Inari.

Grinning, the blonde nodded. "Yeah, I guess I got here just in time! Those two are taken care of" he said as he gestured behind him. Standing there, were two other Naruto's with the two Samurai bound and gagged. They both were unconscious and riddled with various bruises.

"I broke their arms just in case, but their legs are intact so that you can get someone to walk them to a jail cell or something like that."

Inari nodded.

"I'm going to wake your mom up then I have to head to the bridge to help the others out."

Inari said nothing as Naruto woke his mother up and explained the situation to her.

Standing up when everything was done, Naruto patted Inari on the head and ruffled his hair.

"You know… Your dad would be proud of what you did today" said the Genin.

Inari gazed up at Naruto in awe. '_…He would?'_

"You're not a crybaby, your growing up!" Naruto said with a grin before turning around and running off into the distance.

"Good luck, Naruto…"

* * *

Sasuke panted as he went toe to toe with the fake Hunter-nin.

'_He's fast, but I'm faster…'_ thought the Uchiha as he exchanged a few more blows with the other.

The two Shinobi exchanged a few blows before locking together, kunai against a senbon.

Both struggled against each other, neither of them gaining any ground.

"All this water from those Mizu Bunshin shall be used for my next technique, while I have your hand occupied."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this as Kakashi tensed slightly.

Haku raised a hand and began forming on handed seals at a quick rate.

'_One handed seals?!'_ Kakashi exclaimed. He glanced at Zabuza who was watching him carefully for an opening.

'_I can't do anything to help Sasuke right now…' _

Haku stomped the ground with his left foot.

"**Sensatsu Suishō** **!**" The water around Haku and Sasuke rose and formed needles that surrounded the two.

Haku jumped back, causing Sasuke to pitch forward slightly before recovering.

'_Focus the chakra into the soles of my feet'_ Sasuke thought as he tried it.

The water needles crashed and exploded where Sasuke was. Haku grinned behind his mask, thinking that he had succeeded until he felt movement behind him.

"You may be fast, but I'm faster…" came Sasuke's voice. Haku jumped over a sweeping kick from Sasuke and the two began exchanging Taijutsu blows once again.

Zabuza raised an eyebrow at the exchange. '_Hmm… The boy is as fast as Haku… This should prove to be interesting. Haku, when will you reveal it?'_

Kakashi watched Zabuza intently, reading his expressions and body language.

'_He isn't worried… He seemed surprised by Sasuke's speed, but he's still sure of his partner's success… He must have an ace up his sleeve.'_

Sasuke and Haku backed away from each other for a moment, staring at one another.

"I shall admit that you are quite talented, however… I think it's best that I reveal my ultimate technique."

Sasuke thought for a moment that the water needles were back, but as Haku ran through a few hand seals, he noticed the temperature in the air drop dramatically.

'_What the hell is this?'_ Sasuke wondered as the water rose around him and formed a dome of ice made mirrors.

"What kind of Jutsu is this?" Sasuke wondered aloud this time as he surveyed the cold mirrors.

"**Makyō Hyōshō!**"

Haku stepped into one of the mirrors and Sasuke's eyes widened as the image of the Hunter-nin was displayed on every mirror.

"This is my Kekkei Genkai, unique only to myself… This is why I am Zabuza's tool." Haku said softly. "Now, prepare yourself" he said forcefully as readied a few senbon needles.

Before he knew it, Sasuke felt senbon needles pierce him from every direction.

"AARRRRGH!!!"

* * *

Kakashi didn't recognize the technique that the Hunter-nin had just used and he had been tempted to interrupt the brawl between Sasuke and the boy, but he had refrained from doing so. However, Kakashi moved forward when he heard Sasuke's screams of agony but was intercepted by the former Kiri Jonin.

"Don't forget Kakashi, that I am your opponent today!"

'_Fuck…'_ Kakashi thought.

"Sakura, protect Tazuna!!!" he yelled.

Suddenly, the mist seemed to thicken and Zabuza disappeared from sight completely.

"What's this? The mist is even denser than it was last time…" Kakashi mumbled.

Zabuza's laughter answered him from the dense fog.

"This is the one weakness to your Sharingan Hatake! As long as your eye can't see me, it can't hypnotize me or copy my techniques… No more of your cheap parlor tricks!!!" Zabuza declared with glee.

Kakashi huffed at this. "Big flaw there Zabuza… That means you can't see me either. We're at a stalemate!"

Again, Zabuza's laughter echoed as Sasuke screamed from further down the bridge.

"You forget Kakashi; I'm a master of silent killing. I know exactly where you are! I don't need sight to find you much less to kill you."

Kakashi swore. '_Forgot about that detail… Well, I have my ways as well.'_

_

* * *

  
_

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he stood up shakily. "Fuck… you…"

Haku said nothing as he prepared his senbons again. "Then, this is goodbye…"

Using the mirrors, Haku flew towards Sasuke, intent on ending the theatrics once and for all.

* * *

Zabuza grinned in the thick mist, his eyes closed and concentrating on Kakashi's position. "How long until your Genin is killed by Haku?" he asked Kakashi.

It was silent before Kakashi's voice answered. "Sasuke won't go down easily… You see, he's from the Uchiha clan."

Zabuza's eyes opened in surprise. "That cursed clan? Heh… Well that's fitting… You see, that ice technique is a Kekkei Genkai, just like the Sharingan."

"Is that so?" Kakashi asked blandly, listening intently for any movement.

Zabuza chuckled. "None of your Genin are a match for Haku… Not even your blonde annoyance."

Kakashi chuckled at this. "Well, the thing about Naruto is… He's not your ordinary Shinobi… I like to refer to him as…"

* * *

Haku fell to the ground when a strong Futon technique slammed into him through the spaces between the mirrors.

"Careful everybody, Uzumaki Naruto, the maverick Shinobi, has arrived!!!"

There in all of his glory, was Naruto, his coat flapping in the slight breeze left behind by his Futon: Daitoppa.

Haku and Sasuke stared at the boy before the latter blew up at the boy.

"GREAT YOU IDIOT!!! NOW WE'RE BOTH TRAPPED IN HERE!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU STAY AND ATTACK FROM OUTSIDE!!!"

Naruto pretended to clean out his ear. "Sorry, just thought you may appreciate having your ass saved is all…"

Sakura heard Naruto's introduction and smiled. "Naruto's here! Now that we're all here, we stand a good chance!!!"

Tazuna nodded, having seen how a small bit of team work had released Kakashi from imprisonment the first time they had encountered Zabuza.

'_We may have hope once again!'_

* * *

Sasuke rose unsteadily to his feet. "Do you have a plan at the very least?"

Naruto glared at the Hunter-nin as he stood up. '_His chakra… It seems… Familiar…'_

Naruto shook his head. "Sorry but no… Wait!!! Let's try melting the mirrors!"

Sasuke actually gaped at Naruto. '_Why the hell didn't I think of that?!'_

Haku stepped backwards, becoming one with his ice mirror again, his image reappearing all around the two Konoha Genin.

"That won't work… Fire cannot even scratch this technique."

Sasuke and Naruto however, were both finishing the seals required.

"**Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!**" The two large fireballs hit two ends of the dome, yet nothing seemed to happen.

Haku readied his senbon once again, a new target having joined the fray.

'_I do not enjoy killing… but it may be necessary.'_

* * *

Sakura screamed as a slash from Zabuza that was aimed for her was countered by Kakashi. On the down side, Kakashi had to resort to using his own body as a shield and was rewarded with a large gash in his chest. Thankfully for the copy-nin, it wasn't life threatening and would be a slight hindrance. Zabuza grinned as he felt flecks of blood hit his face as he cut through Kakashi's chest.

'_That was too close, wasn't it Hatake?'_ Zabuza thought to himself.

Once again, he vanished back into the mist.

'_It's nearly time for me to end this all…'_ Kakashi thought to himself as he winced from the pain. He then glanced over in the direction he knew Sasuke and now Naruto were in.

'_Be careful you two…'_

* * *

Naruto had been doing pretty well in dodging and deflecting the hail of senbon that was being sent his way. Occasionally, he would take advantage of the fog around them and use his one water Jutsu to send a torrent of water at his opponent.

'_Knowing how to make this fog would really help with this Jutsu… It's so much easier to do with all this water in the air!'_ he thought excitedly.

He looked over at Sasuke to notice that he was starting to get the hang out it, but he was still getting hit quite a bit by the senbon.

'_Looks like the Hunter-nin is focusing more on me rather than on Sasuke…'_ Naruto thought as he glanced at the mirrors once more.

Yet again, the reflections of the boy all prepared more senbon before striking.

Naruto deflected and dodged most of them. However, a pained yell from Sasuke distracted him and six senbon struck him.

Two in his left leg, one in his left arm, three in his right thigh.

Naruto winced and knelt down on the ground.

He tried standing back up but felt a large amount of resistance.

'_FUCK! He struck some pressure points… I can move, but… These weights are keeping me down…'_

He looked over at Sasuke and saw the boy glaring at the mirrors, his breathing labored.

Naruto gritted his teeth and stood up.

'_I can do this… I can do this!!!'_

The next wave of senbon was impossible for the blonde to dodge completely and he earned a few more of the needles in his back and legs. The senbon had done more damage than Naruto had originally assumed and the weights weren't helping.

Sasuke had dodged most of them, a few senbon striking him, barely missing more pressure points.

'_It's getting easier to follow him…'_ Sasuke thought as he glared at the mirrors.

Haku however felt his heart stop for a split second.

'_Sharingan!'_ he mentally exclaimed. Both of Sasuke's eyes had gone from onyx, to red with two tomes each.

'_It isn't fully developed however… But this does present a problem.'_

Haku looked over at the blonde to find that he was kneeling, slightly distracted with his thoughts.

'_So be it… it is necessary it seems…'_

Sasuke widened his eyes when he noticed what the Hunter-nin was doing.

'_NO!'_

Naruto was fumbling with his weights, trying to get one of them off.

'_Sorry Gai-sensei, but I have to…'_

That's when he sensed movement. He looked up to find Sasuke standing in front of him.

Naruto's eye widened when he realized what had just happened.

'_No…no…no no no!!!'_

Sasuke shuddered as he fell backwards, his body looking like a pincushion at this point.

"Why…" Naruto asked.

Sasuke chuckled weakly. "I didn't… My body moved on its own."

Naruto was in shock. Sasuke coughed. "I… I thought that…kill him… Itachi…"

Sasuke grimaced in pain for a moment. "J…just don't die… Dobe…"

With that, Sasuke's eyes closed and his body went completely limp. Naruto stared, not able to comprehend what had just happened.

Haku sighed. "Is this your first time losing a comrade?"

Naruto did not answer.

"It is a difficult thing to have happen, but we are Shinobi, this will happen often. We must kill, or be killed…"

Anything Haku was going to say was cut off by Naruto.

"…Shut up… you bastard…" Naruto growled.

Haku felt something in the air shift. The temperature seemed to increase, yet his Jutsu was still sustained.

'_What is this?'_ he wondered.

"You killed him… you fucking killed him…" Naruto's voice grew darker, and it sent shivers up Haku's spine.

"**I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU**!!!!" Naruto roared as red chakra surrounded Naruto slowly.

Haku felt his heart stop when he saw Naruto's eyes. No longer were they innocent blue, but a fierce crimson, pupils contracted into slits.

The small whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks seemed to darken, his nails lengthened to claws.

Haku watched as the wind picked up and swirled, just as the red chakra swirled around Naruto.

Then, above the blonde boy, the chakra took form. Staring at Haku, a malevolent grin adorning its face was the head of a fox, made of the red chakra.

* * *

Kakashi sensed it first. '_Naruto!!! Is the seal breaking!?'_

Zabuza was the next to sense it. '_What the hell is that? This feeling of dread… Is it Kakashi?!'_

Kakashi focused, sensing Naruto and the seal.

'_No, it's slipped, I think… So, Naruto is using it now… Let's just hope it doesn't consume him…'_

Kakashi slipped a scroll out of his pocket and slid a thumb into wound on his chest.

"Zabuza, you and I are both very busy men, so what do you say to ending this all once and for all?"

Zabuza chuckled. "End it all? What do you have in mind Kakashi?"

Kakashi opened the scroll while sliding his blood soaked thumb along the length of it before it rolled shut.

Kakashi ran through a few hand seals before slamming the ground.

"**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu!**" Kakashi looked up as the ground around him rumbled slightly.

'_Alright Zabuza… This is it…'_

_

* * *

  
_

As soon as it came, the fox disappeared and the swirling red chakra disappeared back into Naruto.

The Genin however, still retained his new features.

Haku then noticed that the senbon that had been in Naruto's body and limbs, were littering the floor around him.

'_He pushed them out with his chakra… What is this boy?'_

Haku grabbed a few more senbon, and charged Naruto using the mirrors.

Haku threw them, aiming at a few vital spots on the boy. What happened next caused Haku's senses to go crazy, warning him to run.

Naruto simply roared an unearthly roar. Haku felt the power and chakra behind it as it repelled the needles.

'_I need to get to the next mirror!'_ Haku thought worriedly.

The next thing he realized was Naruto's hand gripping his arm.

'_Fast!'_

Naruto drew back a fist as Haku prepared himself for the worst. The next thing Haku realized was that his mask had shattered into tiny pieces and he was flying backwards through one of his mirrors.

The Jutsu around Naruto collapsed, having disrupted it by breaking one of the mirrors.

Haku hit the ground and rolled painfully. Gritting his teeth, he felt blood pouring down his face where shards of the mask had lodged themselves.

He slowly rose up to see Naruto charging him, another punch at the ready.

'_I'm sorry, Zabuza-sama…'_

There was a loud crack and Haku winced, yet, there was no pain.

He looked down to find that Naruto had punched the concrete in front of Haku.

Naruto withdrew his hand from the large clean hole he had just created.

"You…" he said with his hair covering his eyes. "You're the one from the forest… Haku…"

Haku nodded. "Why did you hesitate to kill me…? I just killed your team mate."

Naruto gritted his teeth before punching the boy with all his might.

Haku hit the ground hard.

'_That punch, it was strong, but it wasn't what it was before…' _Haku thought.

"You… have the same eyes as I do…" Naruto whispered angrily. "You're like me…"

Haku looked up at the blonde, wondering what he meant.

"Naruto, please… You have defeated me, utterly… I have failed Zabuza-sama… I have killed your friend… Just, please, kill me…"

Naruto's eyes widened at this request.

"Kill, you? Why? Why the hell do you want me to kill you!?" Naruto screamed.

"I am no longer a useful tool to Zabuza-sama" Haku answered simply.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Why the hell are you so loyal to that eyebrow less freak!?"

Haku smiled sadly. "Because, he is the only one that accepted me…"

These words struck Naruto hard. '_He accepted him… just like… how Iruka-sensei accepted me…'_

Haku smiled sadly. "Where I come from, Kekkei Genkai are not welcome… The people of Mizu No Kuni hates them, looks upon them as if we were but demons… They hunted down those with bloodline abilities, killing them off… My mother was a survivor of this… She took refuge in a little village full of snow where she met my father… My parents were a happy family, and I was part of that family. My father and mother loved each other so much, as they both loved me very much… We lived in that snowy little village as a happy family… However it did not last… When I was very young, it was discovered that my mother had a Kekkei Genkai, and when my father found out about it, he killed her, and then he tried to kill me…" Haku's smile was replaced by a sad, haunted look.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"When that happened, my Kekkei Genkai, manifested, and I killed my father… From there, I ran away, tried to live on the streets, yet… That was nearly impossible."

Haku's smile returned as he remembered the day he met Zabuza.

"Then, he came… He found me, knew what I was…"

Zabuza's words echoed through Haku's head. "You are my tool…"

"I was wanted…" Haku said as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Your friend, he too had a Kekkei Genkai, he may have known about the kind of persecution I am speaking of…" Haku slowly stood up.

Naruto shook his head at this.

"He doesn't… In my village, Konohagakure, bloodlines are welcomed, revered nearly… I however, know exactly how you feel…" Naruto said as he rubbed his stomach.

Haku smiled solemnly. "If only I had been born there…"

"I may not have a Kekkei Genkai, but I contain a Biju within my body…"

Haku's eyes widened at this. "A Jinchuriki?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm hated there… Unwanted… Many places won't accept my business… The only reason I'm alive was because of the Sandaime Hokage, who passed a law to protect me… The same law that was passed had forbidden anyone who knew of my Jinchuriki status to keep it a secret and never tell anyone who was unaware of it… Including my age group… But, they still told their children to stay away from me, to hate me… I was alone, all my life… Yet, I found some people that accepted me, both that know and are unaware of what I contain."

Haku felt curiosity gnawing at him. "What Biju do you contain?" he asked, although he had a decent guess from what he saw earlier.

"The Kyubi no Kitsune… The Yondaime Hokage sacrificed himself and sealed the Biju in a baby boy when it attacked our village years ago… That boy was me…"

"Why did he pick you? What of your parents?" Haku asked.

Naruto looked Haku in the eye. He didn't know why, but he wanted to tell Haku, he knew the secret wouldn't leave him… He had shared his own past with Naruto, it was only fair… They were just so alike.

"My father was Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and the man that sealed the Biju within me… My mother… Uzumaki Kushina is dead…"

Haku raised both eyebrows at this. '_His own father gave him such a burden… Although, he had no choice…'_

"Please Haku, don't give up… Just because you think you failed Zabuza doesn't mean that you have! He will probably still want you around…"

Haku was about to reply when he heard chirping in the distance and a shift in the air.

'_Zabuza-sama!!!'_

"Naruto-kun, I believe you will become a strong Shinobi, but I believe, this may be good bye, I am sorry…"

Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what was happening. He felt the chakra in the distance for a powerful Jutsu; he felt a few other chakra signatures, pinning Zabuza down… He felt Haku perform two Jutsu at once. A Shunshin and his mirror Jutsu.

Naruto knew he was too late as he raced through the mist, but he had to make sure, there could be a way!

* * *

Zabuza's eyes widened as Kakashi charged him.

'_Damn dogs!!!'_ Zabuza thought wildly as he tried to struggle, yet he was pinned.

Kakashi traveled at new speeds, the electricity and chakra in his hand making the strange chirping noise.

Then, the noise of tearing flesh rang through the air. Kakashi's eyes widened as well when he saw what he had struck. Both he and Zabuza were stunned, at the sight of a smiling Haku, Kakashi's arm having been rammed through the boy's chest.

The dogs disappeared in puffs of smoke, the scroll used in their summoning impaled by senbon needles.

Ice mirrors that had materialized last minute around them were slowly melting away.

'_He's… already dead!'_ Kakashi realized as Zabuza began talking.

"Thanks to you Haku, Kakashi's prediction of my death was once again, foiled.

Grabbing his large cleaver-like sword, he swung it, intending on cutting through the dead Haku to get to Kakashi.

Kakashi jumped back, carrying Haku with him.

He landed far enough away from Zabuza to remove his arm from the boy and lay him on the ground.

'…_such loyalty…'_ He closed the blank eyes of Haku, and shook his head.

Naruto came into view and from the look on his face, he felt horrified.

"I'm sorry Naruto…" Kakashi said, quickly figuring out that the two had been talking.

Naruto slowly approached Haku and knelt beside him.

"H…Haku…" he whispered as he touched his face.

"It's amazing, that I found such a fantastic tool in the gutter!!!" Zabuza called out.

Naruto felt the heat from the chakra he felt earlier, but ignored it, concentrating on keeping his emotions in check.

Kakashi jumped forward, intending on finishing the fight with Zabuza's death.

He dodged to the left from a swing of Zabuza's sword.

'_He's getting worn out…'_ Kakashi thought as he withdrew two kunai and spun them on his fingers.

He ducked underneath a horizontal swing from Zabuza before lodging the kunai into Zabuza's left arm.

Growling in pain, he swung his useless arm at Kakashi who merely dodged and planted a kick in Zabuza's midsection.

They were about to continue when they heard clapping.

Naruto had come to when he heard the clapping right behind him and jumped away towards Sakura and Tazuna's location.

"Naruto! You're alright! Where's Sasuke!?" Sakura asked as she ran towards the blonde boy, leaving Tazuna alone to stare at who had just arrived.

Naruto said nothing as the mist began to dissipate and he noticed the large army of mercenaries behind a short businessman with a cast on his left arm.

"Bravo Zabuza, bravo!!! You truly live up to your reputation of a demon."

Zabuza glared at the short man and his army. "Gato, what the hell are you doing here?"

Gato laughed an evil laugh. "Oh this? Well, the truth is, that I never intended on paying you. I just wanted all you Shinobi to wear yourselves out and when you were tired enough, just hire an army of bandits to kill you all! Missing-nin are never truly missed and they're so easy to manipulate."

"Well Kakashi, it looks like our fight is now over" Zabuza muttered angrily.

Kakashi nodded as he relaxed slightly.

"Looks that way…" he mumbled.

Naruto wanted to protest that the swordsman was still his enemy, but his attention was focused on the short man at the moment.

'_This man… he's the one who's caused all of this pain!!!'_ he thought angrily as he fought to keep his emotions in check and to keep the power that was trying to worm itself out at bay.

"Some Demon of the mist you are Zabuza! More like a baby demon if that!!!"

Gato walked towards the dead body of Haku and looked down in disgust.

"Then there's you… You broke my arm… I still owe you for that…"

With that said, Gato kicked Haku's face.

Naruto felt everything snap at that moment.

"Fucking trash…" Gato said loud enough for everyone to hear. The mercenaries behind him laughed haughtily at his actions.

This only fueled Naruto's anger.

"You…you FUCKING **BASTARDS!!!"** Naruto roared as the chakra seemed to explode out of him.

Sakura was right next to him and was thrown back through the air and hit the concrete hard, knocking her unconscious. His already damaged jacket was torn off of him and the remains were caught by the winds and carried away.

Naruto felt the red chakra surround him, encasing him in a cloak of sorts.

Kakashi felt fear grip his heart as he watched the red chakra surround his Genin, taking the shape of a fox, a single tail behind the blonde Shinobi.

Naruto crouched on all fours as Zabuza felt the same feeling of dread come over him as it had not that long ago.

'_This boy… what the fuck is he?'_ he wondered, eyes wide and fearful.

Naruto felt the chakra burning him, giving him strength. He felt another presence within him, stirring, trying to push more of the burning energy into him.

'_No… This is all I need to kill these bastards!'_ Naruto thought to himself, not realizing just what he had thought, what he was planning on doing.

The short man, Gato, felt killer intent wash over him as he felt his bladder empty as well.

'_This… this isn't human'_ thought the man.

Naruto growled slightly as he watched the man retreat behind the mercenaries.

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!!!" yelled a frightened Gato.

From the crowd, an arrow flew at Naruto.

His eyes flashing malevolently, Naruto felt the chakra urge him forward, practically whispering him what to do to get rid of the projectile.

Naruto let out a yell, an unearthly yell that shattered the arrow as it soared towards him.

Tazuna slowly backed away from the blonde. '_Is this more Ninjutsu?'_ He wondered fearfully.

Kakashi and Zabuza appeared behind Tazuna.

"It's best to stay out of Naruto's way… I'm not sure if he's still in control." Kakashi said quickly, ready to intercept Naruto if he were to charge them.

Tazuna nodded as Zabuza stared at the boy in front of them.

Naruto roared again as he slammed his hands into the concrete beneath him.

The bridge began to shake slightly before two large arms of red chakra appeared in front of the army of mercenaries.

The arms tore through most of their ranks with one swipe, tossing the bodies into the ocean below while the more unfortunate were torn apart. Arms were severed from their bodies; some torsos were ripped in half.

Gato sat at the back of the remainder of his forces, feeling his bowels evacuate.

The various thugs and bandits that were still alive and on the bridge decided then and there to make a break for it, not wanting to meet their ends courtesy of a blonde powerhouse.

Gato however couldn't move. His eyes had locked with the blonde's and what he saw kept him rooted. Beady black eyes met furious crimson eyes.

'_A…a…d…demon!!!'_ he thought as he tried to urge his body to move. However, not matter how much he tried, his body wouldn't respond.

The two chakra arms receded back to Naruto as he stood up straight and began walking towards the man.

"**You said that Zabuza wasn't a demon… Well, it sounded as if you were sorely disappointed with that, so let me make it up to you… With the power of one of the strongest demons…"** Naruto spoke, not truly aware of just what he was saying.

"W…What do you mean?!" Gato finally spoke as his body began to shake.

Fear was clawing at the businessman's heart, every alarm in his body screaming death was approaching, and yet, Gato still couldn't move.

Naruto kept his eyes locked as he walked up to the small man and looked down at him.

"**Ever heard of Kyubi?"** the boy asked.

Gato nodded. Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously.

"**Good**…" Naruto withdrew a kunai. "**You can thank him for your end.**" Naruto drove the knife between Gato's eyes in a flash. The man couldn't even make a noise as his body went limp, eyes still widened in fear.

Naruto felt the power begin to fade away before he realized what he had just done.

He stared at the body of the dead man in horror, realizing just what he had done.

'_I…I killed him…'_

Naruto dropped to his knees. "I…I killed him… I…"

He kept staring at his first kill, HIS first kill. His stomach lurched before he threw up on the dead man.

"I actually killed him…"

"Yes… You did" came Kakashi's voice.

Naruto couldn't react; he was in too much shock at the brutality he had shown.

"You actually killed a few of them Naruto…"

Naruto felt his eyes tear up. "Why…why did I do it?!" he cried out.

Kakashi sighed as he knelt beside his student. "We are Shinobi… Tools… We have to kill, it's our purpose."

Naruto felt the tears running down his face.

"Naruto… I know it's hard, and there isn't much I can say to make it better, but you did the right thing…"

Naruto felt shame washing over him as he continued to look at the dead body.

"He would be ashamed…" Naruto whispered to himself. Kakashi sighed.

"He wouldn't Naruto… He killed… You're father killed quite a few Shinobi in his time."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi. "I knew your father as he is the one who taught me."

Naruto nodded numbly.

"Look, it's difficult your first few times, but it will get easier… All I can say is, don't let it bother you too much, but never forget them."

Naruto nodded again. "I used it…" he finally said. "I felt the Kyubi giving me all that power… He tried giving me more, but I could feel what it was doing even though I could barely realize it… Am…Am I becoming more like him?" Naruto looked up at Kakashi fearfully.

Kakashi shook his head. "No Naruto… You're not a demon; you feel remorse for your actions, even when it was Gato that you killed. He did deserve what he got, and I doubt I would feel anything from killing Gato other than satisfaction… If anyone was a demon, it would be Gato for what he did to this country."

Kakashi watched the blonde consider his words before speaking again.

"Come on Naruto, we need to get you Sakura and Sasuke back to Tazuna's you three need to rest."

Naruto's eyes widened at Sasuke's name, but before he could tell Kakashi what had happened, he felt his fatigue catch up with him and he fell into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto felt like crap to put it simply. His entire body ached, as if he had been beaten repeatedly with a large wooden mallet.

Then, everything hit him… The memories. Sasuke, Haku…Gato…

Naruto opened his eyes and sat up.

He was back in Tazuna's house, put in the bedroom he and Sasuke had shared over the past two weeks.

Naruto felt his stomach twist uncomfortably at the thought of his deceased comrade.

"Morning Naruto…" Naruto looked over and saw Kakashi sitting in the corner of the room, reading Icha Icha Paradise.

"I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei… I tried… I really did but…" Kakashi interrupted the downtrodden Genin.

"Sorry for what?" he asked confusedly.

Naruto swallowed, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"…for Sasuke."

Kakashi blinked. "Sasuke? What happened?"

Naruto gritted his teeth. '_He's going to make me say it… he should know by now!'_

"For Haku killing him!" he yelled out.

Kakashi stared at Naruto before closing his book with a sigh.

"Naruto… Sasuke is alive…"

It took Naruto a moment to fully understand what Kakashi had told Naruto. "Wait… he is?"

Kakashi nodded. "It seemed as if your friend, Haku, couldn't bear killing him, so he just his a certain few points with senbon needles to put Sasuke in a deathlike state… Just like with Zabuza."

Naruto gaped at his sensei. "He…he's alive! YES! He's still alive!" Naruto grinned triumphantly.

Kakashi chuckled. "Yes he is… That is not why I am here though."

Naruto's smile faded as he realized what they were going to talk about.

"Naruto, I need to ask you… When you accessed Kyubi's chakra, were you in control?"

Naruto inhaled slowly as he remembered the fuzzy memories.

"Yeah… I was… Anything I didn't know how to do, I just instinctively knew how to do…"

'_So the chakra enhanced roar was an instinct…'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

"Did you talk to the fox at all?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No… Do I have the ability to do that?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Like the Sandaime told you, we don't know much about that specific type of seal… I don't think it was meant to create a Jinchuriki. However, I assume that most Jinchuriki can usually contact their Biju…"

Naruto nodded. "Anything else?" the blonde asked his sensei.

Kakashi was silent for a moment, analyzing his student.

"How do you feel about your first kill…?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really know… I mean, I wanted him dead when I first heard about everything he was doing here, but at the same time, I feel like I've done a horrible thing…"

Kakashi nodded. "Like I said Naruto, it's not easy to do at first, and with you, I don't think it will be often… However, it was the right thing; you saved thousands of lives by killing Gato."

Kakashi continued to stare at Naruto as he spoke.

"It was really the best thing you could do… Do you happen to remember the others you killed?"

Naruto shook his head. "That seems fuzzy, the chakra kind of knew what my true target was, and it just took care of the rest…"

Kakashi nodded. "Well, try not to take it so badly… Anyways, you need to get out of bed; you've been here for three days."

Naruto processed the information for a moment before reacting.

"THREE DAYS!?"

* * *

Zabuza stared at the spot where Haku had been buried.

"I'm sorry Haku… You were like a son to me…" Zabuza sighed as he remembered when he had first met the boy, how he had trained him the moment he had laid eyes on the young orphan.

He had taught him everything, used him and now, he felt horrible over everything that had happened to the boy.

'_One day… I would like to see you up there in heaven; however, I don't think I would be allowed in there.'_

"You may be able to though, one day…"

"Humph… What do you want Hatake?" Zabuza asked angrily.

Kakashi walked towards the grave and offered a quick silent prayer.

"Nothing, other than to pay my respects…"

Zabuza said nothing as he stared at the mound of earth containing his protégé.

"Haku befriended that Jinchuriki, Naruto… He always did relate to other outcasts."

Kakashi chuckled. "I think Naruto is the same way…"

Zabuza sighed as he turned towards the Jonin. "That boy, he reminds me of another blonde Konoha Shinobi that passed away thirteen years ago."

Kakashi said nothing, knowing where this was headed.

"That boy looks a lot like the pictures of one Namikaze Minato, especially with that jacket he was wearing."

Kakashi shrugged. "Must be a coincidence." Zabuza stared at the copy-nin, searching for answers.

"I guess it is…" mumbled the former Kiri-nin as he turned back towards the grave.

"So, where are you heading now?" Kakashi asked.

Zabuza shrugged. "I don't really know. I need to keep on the move to stay off of the Hunter-nin's radar… May simply just travel…"

Kakashi closed his eye. "Well, I have only one request… Do not tell anyone of Naruto or what he contains…"

Zabuza nodded. "I don't think Haku would have appreciated it if I did… I'll keep that information to myself."

"Thank you…" Kakashi said as he turned around.

Zabuza said nothing as Kakashi walked away.

'_Haku…' _Zabuza gripped the hilt of his giant blade.

Closing his watering eyes, he swung the sword and impaled the ground with it, marking the grave.

"Goodbye… Haku…"

* * *

Naruto grinned when he came downstairs and found Sasuke and Sakura sitting at the table together.

Sakura looked happy to see Naruto awake and well, which slightly unnerved the blonde.

"Naruto! Thank god you're okay! Sasuke and I were wondering if you would ever wake up!"

'_That's why… Sasuke was worried so she was…as…well? Wait, Sasuke?!'_

Naruto glanced at Sasuke who smiled slightly before nodding.

"Good to see that you're alright Teme!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Humph…" Sasuke said, although a small grin adorned his usually grumpy face.

Tazuna wasn't in at the moment nor was Inari, but Tsunami hugged Naruto the moment she came into the kitchen.

"Naruto! Thank you so much! We heard that you were the one that killed Gato!"

Naruto felt a chill run up his spine at these words, but he ignored it.

"Thank you so much Naruto-kun, you saved our country" she said as she gave him a strong, yet motherly hug.

Blushing, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "It wasn't just me… Sasuke and Sakura were there, and so was Kakashi-sensei."

Tsunami smiled at the blonde as she sat him down at the table and ran around the kitchen, gathering up food for the boy.

"Well, none of them were passed out for three days straight! I think you deserve to get some food in your system!"

Naruto grinned. '_Wonder if I ask nicely enough if she'd make me some ramen!?'_

* * *

Tazuna nodded as he watched Zabuza walk into the forest of Nami no Kuni.

"You sure it's okay to just let him go?" the old man asked Kakashi.

The silver haired Jonin shrugged. "I don't really know, but we are no longer enemies and he has just suffered a loss… Let's leave him be."

Tazuna nodded. "I have to say, these past few days have been strange… Learning of Jinchuriki and Biju…"

Kakashi nodded. "Like I said, don't tell anyone of this… The only reason I told you was because you were there when it happened and Zabuza inquired about if Naruto was indeed a Jinchuriki… It's an S class secret back in Konohagakure, so if you do breach it and it gets out, there is a slight chance that you will be killed for it…"

Tazuna gulped. "Isn't that a bit extensive?"

Kakashi nodded. "A bit… However, it would be the Foundation that would send its forces after you… They are outside of the Hokage's reach and are under a different authority… I would be careful with that information…"

Tazuna nodded. '_So Naruto is the pariah in his own village, because their leader sealed a demon in him at birth to save them all… Some people have all the luck while others have none…'_ he thought sadly.

He looked out at the bridge that was getting a few last minute touches.

'_The damage from Naruto is fixed now at least, and the bridge is pretty much finished… Now all I need is a name for it…'_

* * *

Naruto had enjoyed the last few days in Nami no Kuni.

He had gone back to the charred clearing for some more training and found that he had actually gotten a bit stronger. He had upped his weights once more and was focusing on mastering his Futon: Daitoppa, his water Jutsu, and his two fire Jutsu.

Sasuke had occasionally watched Naruto training, but Naruto had stopped as he had found out about Sasuke's Sharingan.

Sakura was at least being decent towards the Blonde Genin now, but was still hounding Sasuke constantly and whenever she could, she would throw an occasionally glare at Naruto when he interrupted her.

Finally, squad seven was leaving Nami no Kuni. As they said their final goodbyes to Tazuna and his family, the people of the country had come to say their farewells.

"THANK YOU!!!"

"WE LOVE YOU!"  
"COME BACK SOON!!!"

"YOU'RE ALL HEROES!!!"

Naruto grinned at a sobbing Inari.

"Y…you don't have to leave you know…" Inari said through tears.

Naruto patted the boy on the head. "Sorry Inari, but I've got to head home, life as a Shinobi and all…"

Inari sniffed as he hugged Naruto.

"Come back soon then!" he cried.

Naruto hugged back. "I'll try."

Naruto shook Tazuna's hand and was kissed on the forehead by Tsunami.

Sasuke received the same gestures while Sakura received a hug instead of a kiss from Tsunami.

Kakashi had nonchalantly waved at the family before pulling out his usual book and began walking forward.

As the Konoha Shinobi walked along the bridge, people began wondering…

"What are we going to call the bridge?"

"Kakashi is so cool!!! Let's name it after him!!!" A few people suggested while a few girls suggested on naming it after Sasuke.

A few people even suggested on naming it Haku, after the one pure soul that had died there.

Tazuna however, had something different in mind.

"Naruto… The great Naruto Bridge."

Inari grinned at the name while Tsunami raised an eyebrow at this.

"Um… Father, are you sure about that?" She liked the name, but she knew that Tazuna had taken a particular liking to the boy for his spunk and fun attitude.

'_He changed Inari, he killed Gato, and he freed this country… It's fitting… Naruto is determined on becoming Hokage and I'm sure that he will do just that… He changed us all, and he will change his own village… I'm sure of it.'_

"Yes Tsunami… I'm sure…"

* * *

_**Translations: **_

* * *

_**Konoha Senpū**_ – Leaf Whirlwind

_**Kirigakure No Jutsu**_ – Hidden Mist Technique

_**Fūton: Daitoppa**_** - **Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

_**Suiton: Hahonryū**_** - **Water Release: Tearing Torrent

_**Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu**_** - **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

_**Makyō Hyōshō**_- Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors

_**Sensatsu Suishō**_- Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death

_**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu**_- Summoning Technique: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique

_**Mizu no Kuni**_ – Land of Water

_**Kekkei Genkai**_ – Bloodline Limit

* * *

_**TADAA!!! The Wave Arc is finished and I am slightly satisfied with it. I used a midchapter time skip and I apologize for that… I'm not the biggest fan of those but it wouldn't have been very interesting otherwise… Naruto did this… and this… daily routine crap...**_

_**OH!!! AND YEAH!!! I KILLED HAKU!!! Don't like it? Then I'm sorry but it was time for a fucking change… Too many fanfictions out there, my other one included, has Haku living along with Zabuza and the two joining Konoha… I decided to take the true route… I doubt that the demon of the mist would be allowed into Konohagakure by any means… Haku, maybe… a HUGE maybe… Plus, I haven't read a fic where Zabuza is the one to live while Haku dies alone… **_

_**Another thing, yeah, Naruto hit the one tailed state… Again, don't like it? Sad for you!!!**_

_**He connected with Haku more this time, and losing both Sasuke and Haku and then Gato disgracing his newest friend by kicking their dead body, along with his ever increasing rage. Plus, his body is stronger than it was in canon with all the training and meditating he's been doing, I would assume he could access and control more of Kyubi's chakra… Hence him completely shattering and destroying Haku's mask in one blow compared to cracking it.**_

_**Oh!!! And for those who think that, and I fucking quote, 'Now that Squad seven is getting along, this fic is officially ruined…' well, something like that… Anyways, if you think that… FUCK YOU!!! They're not getting along, they never really do entirely. There are moments when they're like family, they're close, or they hate each other… If you don't like that, then why did you ever read Naruto in the first place?! Oye…. So, while Sasuke and Naruto got along for a bit last chapter doesn't mean that they're going to be BFF or anything… It's Naruto and Sasuke, come on!**_

_**My story, my rules…**_

_**I'm such a HUGE dick. XP I love it!**_

_**Anyways, next chapter Naruto and the gang arrive back in Konoha and after chapter 6, the chunin exams will begin… I wanna do a few things in between first to help the story a bit. **_

_**Now, many people have been pestering me for some Naruto Ino action… Let me be clear on this… They will NOT be hooking up right off the bat… I mean, do you honestly think that Ino will see Naruto and they'll jump in the sack?! They're 13!!!!! And not today's stupid 13 year olds who are actually having sex… Ew by the way…**_

_**The relationship will happen, but I'm not rushing it and so you should know not to try and push me to do it… This fanfic is going at my pace like it or not… I know, I'm a big poo poo head for doing this, but I'm okay with that.**_

_**So, I'm going on vacation until the beginning of December, so when I do get back home, I'll get back to the fanfiction stuff and another update will be seen within a week or two of December first… Probably before the tenth as that day is my fiancé's birthday. Oye…**_

_**Well, if you have questions or comments, go ahead and review, or message me… either way works.**_

_**Have a fun Thanksgiving this month, I hope I do!!!**_


	6. The Crossing of Paths

_**So it's finally here. Procrastination is a terrible thing but I'm trying to work on it. I'm working on chapter 7 right now. I'll be honest I wasn't thrilled about continuing this at all until I got a message from a reader that really enjoyed it. So it motivated me to continue to write this fanfiction. So I am happy to say that I am continuing Rise of Namikaze Naruto. So here is the very long awaited (6 months or so) chapter 6.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**Chapter 6**_

_**The Crossing of Paths**_

Naruto yawned as the walked along the main street of Konohagakure.

It had taken half the time to get back to Konoha without having to walk beside Tazuna.

He glanced over at his two other teammates to find that they looked just as haggard as he felt.

"Well then you guys, I think I can handle the mission report…" Kakashi said as he glanced up at the sky.

"What say we just call it a day?" he asked as he looked down at his three Genin.

Naruto grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me!" Sasuke nodded in agreement while Sakura also vocalized her agreement.

"Well then, I'll just see you all tomorrow at the usual spot." Kakashi then vanished in his signature plume of smoke.

Naruto yawned yet again before waving goodbye to his squad mates.

"See you…" he mumbled tiredly as he walked in the direction of his house.

Sasuke nodded to his blonde team mate as he to turned and walked towards his own humble abode.

Sakura sighed as she watched her squad dissipate without hesitation.

'_Are the other squads like this?'_ she wondered.

Naruto entered his apartment to find it just as he had left it.

'_That's good… Fewer vandals lately…'_ he thought to himself as he kicked off his shoes before sitting down and taking his weights off as well.

"Well, that was definitely an interesting mission to say the least" he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him when it happened again. Gato's face flashed before his eyes, as if someone had plastered his picture on the inside of his eyelids.

The horrified expression that Gato wore on his face as Naruto had executed him.

Naruto sat up quickly, his eyes snapping open in the process.

It had been like this since he had killed him, haunting him whenever he closed his eyes or let his thoughts wander.

"Dammit… Why can't he just leave me alone…" he muttered to himself.

He looked out his window to see the nearing the horizon.

'_I may as well get some air I guess…'_

Leaving his weights behind, he put his sandals on before racing across the rooftops, intent on getting to the Hokage monument before sunset.

It didn't take him long with the weights back in his apartment. He wandered from head to head, considering which one to sit on today.

In the end, he chose the Nindaime Hokage.

He sat down in the lotus position as he watched the village go about its end of day business.

He spotted a few people he vaguely knew heading home from missions or shopping, but of course none of them spotted the blonde Shinobi watching them all.

He sighed as the sun finally began its decent and the shadows began to grow.

Then, he sensed someone nearby… Close. Someone he didn't know.

Naruto rocketed into the air, withdrawing kunai from his holster and with aim he had not possessed before, went for the kill.

However, whomever he had been aiming at had disappeared the moment Naruto had sprung into action.

Naruto made the cross seal for his Kage Bunshin when the wind picked up and pushed him down to the ground.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he landed and his knees buckled slightly.

'_What the hell? Who the fuck is this guy?'_

Naruto spun around, another kunai in his hand when it seemed to be knocked out of his hand.

'_This guy's so fast I can't even see him!'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto ran through a set of hand seals when the wind seemed to punch him in the gut.

Naruto was carried backwards by the force of the Futon Jutsu that had just been used and fell onto his back.

Then, a cane hit the ground next to his head.

"So, you are Uzumaki Naruto… I thought you would be better."

Naruto looked up at the owner of the voice and cane to find a man with bandages covering part of his face.

"Who the hell are you!" Naruto spat.

"My name? You may call me Danzo."

Naruto glared at the man.

"What do you want?" He asked.

Danzo took a few steps back, allowing Naruto to get to his feet.

"I was curious as to see how you were progressing…"

Naruto grit his teeth. "Well isn't that nice, but why should I trust what you have to say? I don't even see a Konoha Hitai-ate on you anywhere…"

Danzo brushed some dirt off of his sleeve.

"I do not need a headband. I am well known among important individuals within of our fine village."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Why would an 'important individual' like you even want to see how I was progressing…?"

Danzo opened his one eye and stared directly at the boy.

"We both know what you are Uzumaki, I was simply curious how you measured up to your father…"

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat.

'_I thought no one else knew!'_

To Danzo's surprise, Naruto sprung into action faster than he could have anticipated.

Naruto pushed himself harder than he had before and sent the older man flying with a well placed right hook.

'_I don't know if this guy is a Konoha Shinobi, but I don't trust him. Something about him is off!'_ he thought as he sent a barrage of shuriken at the man.

Naruto used his superior speed to get into Danzo's blind spot.

Naruto launched himself at Danzo, using his unique Taijutsu with the aid of two other clones.

The first clone went for a leg sweep, which Danzo knocked away with his cane, using strength and agility that unnerved Naruto.

The second clone tore through the first clone and aimed for Danzo's solar plexus.

However, Danzo sped through hand seals faster than Naruto could trace, and the next thing the clone and the original Naruto knew, wind was blowing them backwards.

The clone dissipated upon the activation of the Jutsu, while Naruto was hurled off the side of the Hokage Monument.

Naruto grunted as he made the cross sign again. Clones appeared around Naruto. The original used the various clones as either stepping stones or for the clones to hurl him closer to the enemy.

'_This is bad… I don't know how to fight in midair!'_ Naruto thought as he was tossed by one more clone before landing on the ground before Danzo.

"I will say this; you surprised me with your speed. However, I now realize just what you are capable of."

Naruto stood up tall and glared at the man.

"How do you know who my father is…" the Uzumaki asked angrily. "Nobody other than the Hokage and a few others should be privy to that information!"

Danzo continued to glare. "Knowing secrets is part of a Shinobi's trade young Uzumaki, whether it concerns an enemy, or an ally."

Naruto scoffed. "But that information is top secret."

"Indeed it is… But I've known of your lineage since your father saw fit to seal the Kyubi No Kitsune within you."

Naruto threw a kunai once more which Danzo skillfully caught.

"You should know by now that it's useless to attack me…"

Naruto grinned. "I disagree."

Suddenly, the kunai in Danzo's hand exploded. Naruto watched as the smoke slowly cleared to find that Danzo had been unaffected.

"I told you, it's useless."

Naruto ground his teeth in frustration.

'_This guy is REALLY good. I definitely don't stand a chance. He seems stronger than Kakashi even.'_ Naruto thought as he looked behind him at the village.

"So what else did you want?" Naruto asked, looking back at Danzo.

Danzo chuckled. "Nothing else Uzumaki… Or should I call you Namikaze?"

Naruto glared. "I'm not sure whether you're trying to rile me up or not… But if you are, it's working."

Danzo frowned. "I'm being serious boy. Then again, I suppose you haven't earned the right to call yourself a Namikaze."

Naruto turned around and looked down at the village.

"You were so cautious of me being an enemy earlier… Yet you turn your back on me now. Very unwise" Danzo said as he took a step closer to Naruto.

"If you truly are a Konoha Shinobi, then you wouldn't dare attack me" Naruto said as if it were as simple as that.

"For a Genin, you are wise… Much wiser than you were in the academy."

"I know that a high ranking Shinobi wouldn't simply check in on a Genin, regardless of who his father was… What do you want?" Naruto asked, getting sick of asking so many times.

Danzo walked up next to him, looking down at the village as the sky grew darker and darker.

"I know of your dream to become Hokage… If you are serious about that dream, you will eventually need to out yourself as both a Jinchuriki and a Namikaze. If that day comes, I will assist you."

"But you'll want something in return… Am I right?" Naruto asked before Danzo could continue.

"I will not lie to you Namikaze; I will be required to ask for your assistance when the time comes."

Danzo turned heel and began to walk away.

"If you want my assistance that is…"

He stood there, waiting for Naruto's answer.

"If the time comes, I'll take it under consideration." Naruto finally said.

Danzo grinned before disappearing in a Shunshin.

Naruto shook his head. '_I go out to clear my head and some freak decides to test me… Why is this village full of freaks?'_ he wondered as he left the monument.

"So Kakashi, what do you intend to do about Naruto?" asked the Sandaime Hokage.

Kakashi sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. He had just given his report to the Hokage, including all the details he knew of about Naruto accessing the Kyubi's chakra.

"Well, all I can say is continue to train him so that he isn't overcome by the demon's influence" he said as he stared out the window and watched the sun set.

"Are you sure you can handle this Kakashi? I know that you are quite drawn to training young Sasuke. Training Naruto will be much more difficult for you."

"It's true that training Sasuke would be much easier as he has a knack for learning Ninjutsu quickly and efficiently. Plus, now that he has awakened his Sharingan, training him will be that much easier. I'll be fine with Naruto." Kakashi said, taking a seat across the Hokage.

"What of Haruno Sakura? You cannot neglect her training Kakashi, she is a part of your team, and a team is only as strong as its weakest link" stated the Hokage as he pulled out dossiers of the team.

"I'm not saying she is a lost cause, but so far I haven't been able to motivate her with our training exercises. One way may be to show her the harsh truth. I know Naruto has been giving her a lot of… 'Tough love'…" Kakashi said, unable to find words that described Naruto's erratic emotions.

"So I've heard. I do encourage you to try this approach, but change your regime if it doesn't work out."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes sir."

Naruto awoke with a start the next morning, having seen Gato again.

'_Why can't I stop obsessing over it…? I'm a Shinobi, we kill…'_ he thought to himself.

He looked out his window to see the sun rising to the east.

'_I may as well go see if Lee and Gai-sensei are out training today…'_ Without wasting anytime, Naruto gathered his training gear and donned it all.

He jumped out the window and into the street.

He winced slightly as he landed and his knees buckled slightly.

"At least I'm not breaking anything anymore…" he breathed.

He then took off down the street at a decent pace as to not tire himself incase they were training today.

While running, he caught sight of Aburame Shino, who nodded to him.

'_Huh… Haven't seen him around much…'_ Naruto thought as he nodded back.

He quickly reached the training grounds where he would meet Gai-sensei and Rock Lee.

He scanned the area and saw nothing.

"That's weird… I thought maybe they'd be here. Guess they're off on a mission or something."

Naruto turned to leave when he heard the whistling of a kunai.

The blonde Genin jumped out of the way as the kunai embedded itself where his foot had been just a moment ago.

Naruto looked at the attacker to find a girl that seemed to be his age.

"Uh… hi…" Naruto waved.

The girl looked confused. Naruto looked her up and down, wondering who this could be.

She was wearing a pink Chinese styled top, Shinobi pants and sandals. Her hair was done up in two buns, reminding Naruto of cinnamon buns.

"Who are you?" the girl asked as she tossed a kunai in the air before catching it.

'_Just because she didn't know doesn't mean she had to attack me'_ Naruto thought, an irritated expression on his face.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto. Who are you?" he asked, taking a step forward.

"Tenten and I would prefer if you stayed where you are" she said, gripping the kunai and taking a step back. "Mind telling me what you're doing over here?"

Naruto sighed. "I was looking for a kid named Rock Lee. He's a got a bowl cut and wears a green leotard."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Lee? What do you want with him?"

"You know him?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, he's one of my teammates." Tenten said.

"Meaning… Gai is your sensei?" he asked again.

Tenten nodded. "What do you want with Lee though?"

Naruto grinned. "Oh, I just wanted to train with him was all. I've been training with them every morning for a while."

Then it hit Tenten. "Wait… I remember them telling Neji and I about that… I completely forgot your name! I'm so sorry! If I had known, I wouldn't have thrown that Kunai after you."

Tenten stowed the kunai in its holster before approaching Naruto and offering him a hand.

"It's good to meet someone who can keep up with Gai-sensei and Lee!" she said with a smile.

"It's good to meet one of Lee's teammates finally!" he said as he took the hand and shook it.

"So…From what Lee told me, you know Goken?" Tenten asked.

Naruto nodded. "For the most part. Gai-sensei is helping me tweak it to fit my personality and my Jutsu."

Tenten smiled.

"That means you're wearing weights, right?" she asked.

"Uh… yeah! That's right! Why?" he asked curiously.

Tenten grinned. "I say when Lee arrives; we try a sparring match… All three of us."

Naruto sped through the forest, panting heavily.

"Why the hell did I agree to this?" he wondered as he dodged a hail of shuriken.

Leaping up, he grabbed a branch and swung around and began tree jumping in the opposite direction.

He pulled out a kunai and used it to block a second barrage of throwing stars.

'_She's really good! If I slip up, I'll be like one of those training dummies used for target practice!'_

He jumped down only to find himself dodging strikes from a green blur.

'_Fuck!'_ he screamed mentally.

He lashed out with a kick only to have it caught and him thrown into the path of an oncoming kunai.

The blade pierced Naruto's chest, only to have the blonde burst into smoke.

The real Naruto leapt from the trees above with speed nearly equal to Lee's.

Now simply a blur to Tenten, Naruto aimed for Lee.

'_Gotta get him first…'_

Suddenly, the blur seemed to turn into two blurs, both heading towards Lee.

'_So this is the difference between Lee's Goken and Naruto's…'_ Tenten thought as she watched for an opening.

The two Naruto's fought vigorously against Lee, but none of their strikes were landing.

"Impressive Naruto-kun!" Lee yelled as he jumped up and backwards over the Naruto clone and avoiding a roundhouse kick from the original.

"You have gotten faster without your weights on. However, you are not the only one who has been training!" Lee announced.

Then, Naruto's jaw dropped when Lee seemed to disappear.

'_MOVE!'_ his mind screamed.

Naruto took a step back, lessening the blow that quickly followed.

Naruto was flung backwards and slammed into a tree. Before he had time to recover, he had to dive to the left as Tenten used this as an opportunity.

Naruto winced as one kunai nicked his shoulder.

'_Just a scratch…'_ Naruto thought as he jumped out of the way off a powerful kick from Lee which shattered the ground it connected with.

"Guess I'll have to use everything I've got!" Naruto said as he pushed himself to keep up with Lee's speed.

The two Shinobi clashed, landing only small blows. Lee however, had an advantage with his superior speed, and was therefore able to land more blows than Naruto could.

Lee smirked. '_I shall win this match with Naruto-kun!'_

He then began to drive Naruto back, using a variety of different moves he had learned recently to throw an opponent off their game. Naruto was able to just keep from being outclassed and continued to either avoid or block the major strikes.

Then, Lee saw an opening.

Lee lashed out with an open palm strike to Naruto's knee, causing him to fall to the ground and cry out in pain.

Lee was about to deal the finishing blow when he saw Naruto's smirk.

"I win…" the blonde said.

Lee looked down at Naruto's palm. '_Ninjutsu!'_ he realized.

Lee was lifted off of his feet by the power of Naruto's Suiton: Hahonryū Jutsu that he had come to depend on lately.

Smirking, Naruto stood up.

"You nearly had me… But if we keep this up, I will lose Lee."

The green clad Genin stood up, nearly unfazed. "Another time I suppose Naruto-kun. You, like myself, are a genius at hard work! You can conquer anything!"

Naruto nodded.

'_I don't think he was even going all out… I need to up my training if I plan on beating him or Sasuke.'_

Tenten jumped down and walked over to the two of them as Gai also seemed to appear out of thin air.

"Fantastic sparring session, all three of you! The flames of youth burn brightly within you!"

He went through his usual routine of posing, his arm extended, thumb up, and the glimmer in his eyes and teeth.

'_Amazing how he can do that so often…'_ Naruto and Tenten thought at the same moment.

Lee however had joined his teacher and had struck the exact same pose.

Naruto walked over to Gai, whom had his weights and had placed them on the ground next to him when he had arrived.

"Thanks again for everything. I should get going so that I get there before Kakashi-sensei."

This peaked Tenten's growing interest in Uzumaki.

"Kakashi? As in Hatake Kakashi?" she asked the blonde.

Naruto nodded as he strapped his leg weights on and began putting his arm weights on as well.

"Yeah. The thing that bugs me about him is how late he always is" he said as he finished with his weights. He did a slight hop to test how they felt.

'_Seems fine to me.'_

Tenten looked over at Gai, then at Naruto.

'_Interesting… So Gai-sensei is teaching a student of his 'rival' Kakashi…'_ she thought as she began fiddling with a shuriken in her pocket.

Naruto stretched before glancing around. "So do you guys have anything going on tomorrow morning, or are we all up for another training regime?"

Gai glanced at his two students.

"I apologize Naruto, but our time with you shall be less frequently for the next few months. The Chunin exams are coming up, and we must prepare for them as a squad as I am sure Kakashi will do for his own."

Naruto laughed. "Ok. But I doubt that Kakashi will actual train us, and if he does, I doubt he'll have his nose out of that orange book."

Gai sighed at this. "It is most unyouthful of Kakashi to read that when he should be advising his students… Alas, he will not listen to me. Anyways, we must be off Naruto-kun! Hopefully you too shall be entered into the competition!"

Naruto nodded and turned. "Hopefully!" he said with a wave.

"It was nice meeting you Tenten, we should spar again sometime!"

Tenten simply grinned.

Kakashi looked over his three students. As usual with these sessions, Naruto seemed tired already, indicating that he had been training with Gai and his student.

"Well then, even though we did a good job with our 'A' ranked mission, we will be doing a few more 'D' ranked missions today as well as a training session."

Sasuke and Naruto, who had both been staring off, snapped to attention when Kakashi had said, training session.

"Why the sudden change in regime?" Naruto asked.

"After seeing all of your strengths and weaknesses in the last mission, I've come up with a regime that I think will do wonders for you careers as Shinobi" Kakashi said as he flipped to a page in his ever present Icha Icha Paradise.

'_Bull… It's about the exams I bet'_ thought Naruto with a sneer.

"So what will we be doing first?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi smiled.

Naruto and Sasuke had been keeping up a good pace for the past two hours of training. First, Kakashi had them run a few laps around the training field for a warm up.

He then had them spar one another.

Sasuke and Sakura were paired while Naruto fought Kakashi.

Kakashi had been presently surprised to find very few openings as Naruto fought. Of course, none of the blows had actually made contact, but the boy had gotten an A for effort.

The spar between Sasuke and Sakura had been pathetic in Kakashi's opinion.

Sakura seemed to be torn between fear and obsession.

She was obsessed with Sasuke, and would not actually fight properly. She was afraid of what Sasuke was capable of and constantly kept backtracking.

Sasuke of course, didn't deem Sakura much of a sparring partner when this started up, which didn't seem to help his mood.

'_Next time… Maybe Sakura should either spar me, or Naruto…'_ Kakashi thought to himself tiredly.

Then, basic exercise came around. Push ups, sit ups, squat thrust… the whole shebang!

Then, it was back to jogging.

Then, came water walking… It was the next step in chakra control for Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto had already learnt it, but had insisted that he do it as well, stating that he needed to practice it.

By that time, Sakura was completely worn out.

Now, they were practicing kunai throwing. Their targets were various Kage Bunshin provided by Naruto and Kakashi, disguised as many things and moving at different speeds.

Sakura had gotten sloppy with her fatigue, while Naruto seemed to be having some trouble courtesy of both his earlier spar, and how much effort he had to put into the training thanks to his weights.

Finally, Kakashi called for them to stop.

"Well, I think that covers training for today" he said as Sakura and Naruto sighed in relief.

"Now it's time for a mission!" Kakashi said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"So what's today's mission?" Naruto asked gloomily.

"Well, it seems that we have some type of thief wandering the city at night. Normally, we'd let the police division handle this, but they haven't come up with too much. The Hokage has this classed as a 'C' ranked mission."

The Genin all nodded in acknowledgement.

"So we're to pick this guy up?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi shook his head.

"No. We need to find out who else he is working with. We know he's not a Shinobi from what he's taking, but there's no sign of forced entry and mind you, that all of the places robbed so far have been Shinobi residency's."

"So that means that he may have an accomplice?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi nodded. "So, in that case, I want you all to get your supplies together. We may or may not have a fight on our hands."

The three Genin nodded.

"All right, meet me back here in two hours with all of your supplies." Kakashi ordered.

Before the other Genin could reply, he continued.

"However, Sakura, I need to speak with you quickly."

The two males of the squad looked over at Sakura.

'_Wonder what Kakashi wants to talk to her about…'_ Naruto wondered through squinted eyes.

'_Whatever…'_ Sasuke thought as he turned around and walked.

Naruto followed, shrugging away his curiosity for the moment.

Kakashi beckoned for Sakura to follow him.

'_I didn't do anything… did I?'_ Sakura wondered.

'_**Shannaro! He better not try anything!'**_

Kakashi had Sakura follow him through a few crowded streets without speaking a word, and Sakura could not see any type of expression on his face other than boredom.

Finally, they stopped in front of a restaurant.

"Do you like this place by any chance?" Kakashi asked as he looked back at Sakura.

'_That's all he had to ask me?'_ she wondered in amazement.

"_**Shannaro! This was a waste of time!'**_

"Uh… I guess…" she said.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, follow me then." He went inside the small restaurant and Sakura followed.

'_I'm not getting kicked off the squad am I? I can't be away from Sasuke-kun. I'll gladly endure Naruto-baka if it means time with Sasuke!'_

Her teacher found a booth and sat in it, motioning for Sakura to sit across from him.

Sakura sat down, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

The waiter swooped down on them.

"What will it be today?" he asked politely.

"Two bowls of miso soup please" Kakashi requested.

The waiter nodded. "Anything to drink?"

"Green tea" Sakura asked.

The waiter looked at Kakashi.

"Water is fine" he said simply.

The waiter wandered off to deliver the order.

"Um… Kakashi-sensei, why are we here, and why aren't Naruto or Sasuke?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"I really didn't want to have this conversation, but the more I thought about it, the less likely I thought it would all just work out" Kakashi mumbled.

'_Conversation? What happened? Please don't kick me off the team!'_ Sakura screamed mentally. Her inner self seemed quiet at this moment.

"Well, Sakura… Let me ask you a question. Other than today and in Nami no Kuni, have you trained at all since you graduated from the academy?" Kakashi asked, looking her straight in the eye.

Sakura was taken aback by the question.

"Uh… not really. I mean we've been busy with missions and all, I just focus on those" Sakura stammered.

Kakashi shook his head at this answer.

"That's not a very valid excuse Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke both have the same duties as you, and they both find plenty of time to train vigorously. They've both improved since I first gave the three of you the bell test."

Sakura gulped, knowing what was coming. She did not enjoy being chewed out.

"Sakura, the only thing that's improved with you is your willingness to work with your teammates."

Sakura hung her head. "Sensei, I…"

Kakashi held his hand up. "Sakura, if you truly want to become a successful Kunoichi, you're going to have to start working harder. I understand that your grades in the academy were superb, but this isn't a simulation or test. This is real life. Knowledge can only get you so far as a Shinobi, just as strength will only get you so far. The same thing goes for skill."

Sakura bit her lip.

"Sakura, all I am saying is that you need to start training on your own and not rely on me and my training. Sasuke and Naruto already know this."

Sakura nodded. "I'm sorry sensei."

Kakashi shrugged. "For now, let us enjoy our food." As he finished saying this, two bowls of miso soup were placed in front of both Kakashi and Sakura.

"Two bowls of miso soup, green tea for the lady, and water for you sir" the waiter said as he placed the items in front of them.

"Thank you" Kakashi said a smile on his half hidden face.

"If you need anything else, please feel free to ask" the waiter said as he left.

Sakura stared at her blurry reflection in the bowl of soup.

"Eat up before we head out, you'll need your energy" Kakashi said.

Sakura looked up to see that his bowl was already empty. She then looked at his face, only to see that his mask was still on.

'_How does he do that?'_ she wondered.

Naruto and Sasuke walked along, side by side.

"So what do you think Kakashi-sensei wanted to talk to Sakura about?" Naruto asked Sasuke, his hands behind his head as he walked.

"Hopefully he's asking her to get her act together…" Sasuke said, hands in his pockets as usual.

Naruto sniggered. "I dunno… I don't see Kakashi-sensei actually acting like a sensei for once."

Sasuke said nothing, but his mouth did twitch slightly.

"Not that Sakura would listen to him. She'd just say that her love for you would be enough or some bullshit like that" Naruto snorted.

Sasuke sighed. "Probably."

Naruto looked over at his team mate. "You know, I don't really know a ton about you."

Sasuke looked over at him. "Are you just realizing this?"

Naruto smiled his wide smile. "Nah, just vocalizing it. I mean, we're teammates now, we should now more about each other!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I know enough about you… You're an idiot with an affinity for ramen."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. "Well you're an antisocial jerk who's constantly stalked by either Ino or Sakura."

Sasuke chuckled. "This is the most we've said to each other" he said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Never thought you'd make an observation like that."

Sasuke shrugged. "So, how long have you been wearing weights?" he asked the blonde Genin.

Naruto grinned. "When did you notice?"

"Back in Nami no Kuni when you showed me how to do the tree climbing exercise. The landing you performed from jumping off that tree left a deep impact in the ground. Again I noticed an extreme weight change from the academy when you and I sparred again on that mission."

Naruto was surprised. "Wow, even before your eyes got even more retarded you could perceive all of that. Nice."

Sasuke glared at Naruto for the retarded eyes comment.

Naruto continued to grin, knowing that he had gotten the reaction he had aimed for.

"Look, I'm going to go grab my things and meet up with you later" Naruto said as he waved before jumping up onto a building and taking across the rooftops.

Sasuke continued to walk at his own leisurely pace.

Sakura left the restaurant in deep thought.

'_This is the second time he's brought that up, but he went into more detail this time…'_ Sakura sighed, feeling a weight in her stomach.

'_He's right, Sasuke and Naruto have been getting stronger, but I haven't really progressed at all.'_

Her inner persona had nothing to say at this time.

She rounded a corner when she heard her name being called.

"Forehead! Earth to forehead!" Ino said next to her.

"Huh? Oh, Ino…" Sakura said quietly.

Ino looked at her one time friend in confusion.

"Hey, you alright there Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura was silent for a moment. "It's none of your business Ino-pig…"

Ino grinned. "Did Sasuke tell you to back off finally? I guess he realized who the prettier of the two of us is."

Sakura laughed at this. "From what I remember, you've never gone a three week long trip with him."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh please forehead, I know it was a mission otherwise you would have hunted me down to smother it in my face. Besides, Naruto was there as well, couldn't have been that great could it."

Sakura frowned when Naruto was mentioned.

"That bad eh?" Ino commented snidely.

"That's not it Ino…" Sakura said as she remembered what Naruto had to do on the mission. She wasn't conscious for it, but Kakashi had informed her and Sasuke of what had happened. She didn't really remember how she had ended up knocked out, but she did remember how Naruto had acted when he had come to.

She heard him groaning in his sleep, the nightmares that were plaguing him. She had heard him wake up in the middle of the night with a start, and not going back to sleep. She had even spied on him and Kakashi talking about how he was coping with it… It wasn't well.

"Something happened on the mission…" Sakura said solemnly.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"One of us had to kill someone…" she whispered.

Ino stared at Sakura. '_It couldn't be that hard… I mean, we're Shinobi, we're trained to kill.'_

"So Sasuke finally did it… he's the first out of the nine graduates to do that" Ino said, assuming that her precious Sasuke-kun had done it.

Sakura shook her head. "No, it wasn't Sasuke… it was Naruto."

Ino's jaw dropped. "Who was it? Some weak old man?"

Sakura gritted her teeth. "He killed more than once Ino."

"What's the big deal? We're Shinobi; we're supposed to kill, right?" Ino asked as they both halted and stood in the deserted street, only a few people walking by.

"That's what I thought Ino… But I guess it gets to you more than it ought to. He's suffering" Sakura said.

"Are you actually worried about Naruto?" Ino asked.

"A little, but I'm more worried about when I have to finally do it…"

Ino raised an eyebrow.

"I heard Naruto talking to Kakashi-sensei about the aftermath of it all… Apparently he's been having nightmares of the people he had killed. He told him that he couldn't stop thinking about the blood on his hands and that they were people just like him…" Sakura said shakily.

"Don't you think he's being a bit overdramatic about this? I mean, it's Naruto after all" Ino said.

Sakura nodded. "That's what I thought too, but then Kakashi told him that that's normal… That taking a life isn't something that will ever come easily. Apparently Kakashi had a rough time after his first kill…"

Ino looked down for a second. "I don't know… Maybe it's just not a big deal to me because I haven't been exposed to it yet. Just seems a little silly to me."

Sakura sighed. "Maybe you're right Ino-pig…"

Ino grinned. "Of course I'm right forehead

Ino watched as Sakura strode away, heading home for a mission that squad seven had just received.

'_So Uzumaki was the first one to take a life… That was a surprise. I would have thought for sure that it would've been Sasuke-kun.'_ Ino looked to the sky.

'_I wonder if we're all changing… Naruto included…'_ Suddenly she had an image of the orange clad idiot that would constantly pull pranks in class.

'_I doubt that…'_

Kakashi watched as the front door opened.

"Hello Naruto" he greeted from behind his book.

"AHHH!" Naruto screamed as he jumped backwards in surprise.

"K… Kakashi-sensei! What the hell are you doing in my apartment!" yelled Naruto.

Kakashi snapped his book closed. "For one, I'm here to tell you to leave your weights here for this mission."

Naruto glanced down at his legs then back up to Kakashi.

"Why? I thought this was only a 'C' ranked mission" Naruto said before walking into his apartment and closing the door behind him.

"It is, but I'd rather you keep them off incase we need to chase after somebody" Kakashi said from the couch.

Naruto shrugged. "Could I just reduce the weight in them so that I can keep up with you and Sasuke?"

Kakashi stood up. "If you can keep up, than that's fine, but don't keep them too heavy."

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry… After the last mission, I tinkered around with these weights so that I can easily take them off in the middle of a fight."

Kakashi seemed intrigued. "What happened during the last mission with your weights?" he asked.

"Well, when Sasuke and I were fighting Haku, the weights kept slowing me down along with the pressure points Haku kept hitting. I figured that if I could get the weights off, I could move around a lot better and avoid more strikes. But it took to long to undo the weight's straps, so Sasuke nearly paid the price for it."

Kakashi nodded, signaling for him to go on.

"So, when we got back yesterday, I took off my weights and tried to figure out some sort of quick release latch I could make."

"I take it you figured one out then?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded. "I had to get some help from Gai-sensei, but we got something to work."

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "Mind showing me?"

Naruto shook his head. "That's fine." Naruto formed the ram seal. "Just want to decrease the weight so that I don't dent the floor or something."

Naruto sighed as he felt his weights lighten significantly.

Then, Naruto put his arms to his sides. He took a deep breath before moving as fast as he could.

He brushed his hands along the weight underneath his pants.

Just as he brushed them, the weights fell off, as if they had been undone.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. '_Interesting.'_ Kakashi walked to one of the weights and picked it up before examining it.

"So you painted a seal on it… a release seal that need just a small amount of chakra to activate. I must say it is a bit rough, but otherwise it can work." Kakashi said before setting it down.

"Yeah, the only problem I have with it is that I have to actually touch the seal with my hand otherwise nothing happens" Naruto said.

"Well, if you want me to take a look at it sometime after this mission, I can help you with that. Gai may be a talented Shinobi, but he is not as proficient with seals as I am" Kakashi said with some confidence.

Naruto smiled. "Really! That would be great!"

Kakashi nodded. "Well, I guess just keep the weight minimal enough that it won't deter us during the mission."

Naruto nodded.

"Well, get your weapons together and a small amount of rations… This may be an overnighter" Kakashi said before disappearing in a plume of smoke.

'_I really have to learn that technique…'_ Naruto thought.

Sasuke sighed as he sat near a pouting Sakura while waiting for Naruto and Kakashi.

'_Naruto's usually good about being on time, so why is he late?' _he wondered.

He glanced over at Sakura who continued to stare down at her shoes.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" Naruto called out as he landed beside Sasuke.

Sakura glanced over at Naruto before looking back down, sulking.

Naruto ignored her as he stretched out. "This should be an interesting mission."

"I'm glad you think so Naruto" Kakashi said above them.

The three of them looked up to find Kakashi sitting on a balcony reading his orange book.

"So let's go over the information that I have so far on these robberies."

He slipped his book into his pouch before pulling out a scroll and tossing it to them.

Sasuke caught it and unrolled it. The other two Genin looked over his shoulder.

"There's a pattern" Sakura said.

Kakashi nodded. "I'm glad to see you noticed it."

Naruto scratched his head. '_I'm getting smarter but… where's the pattern?'_

The scroll showed a list of the victims and where they lived along with a report of what was missing.

Sasuke stared for a moment before grinning.

"What do you know…? There is a pattern." He said.

"We suspected that there was a pattern at first but weren't sure until the last break in. Every other day he strikes a certain neighborhood. One day he'll go for the Shinobi families with Jonin in them while the next day will be a Chunin before going back for a Jonin." Kakashi said.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Jonin? And they don't catch this person?"

"No, because it happens when the Shinobi are out on a mission" Kakashi stated.

"So who do you think will be hit next?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi then pulled out another scroll. "I have a list of all the Jonin who are currently out on missions, including myself."

He tossed the list to them. "Last time was a Chunin's apartment, but to be sure, I got a list of all the Chunin who are away on missions as well."

Naruto scratched his head.

"This is all helpful but how are we going to keep an eye on all of these places. There are at least 45 places unattended."

Kakashi grinned. "That's why the Hokage and I thought this mission was right up your alley Naruto."

Naruto blinked before it hit him. "Kage Bunshin… Of course."

Naruto sighed as he walked along a road under a Henge of an old man.

'_I hate this…' _Naruto thought to himself as he tried sensing for any other chakra signatures.

'_Nothing out of the ordinary'_ he thought as he walked past Ichiraku's.

Naruto's stomach rumbled slightly.

"If only…" he sighed.

"Naruto? Anything where you are?" Kakashi's voice came over the communicator in his ear.

"Not yet" he whispered.

"Same here" Sakura said before Sasuke repeated the same thing.

"Keep looking. Kakashi out" the communicator was then silent.

Naruto turned a corner and nearly ran into Iruka.

"Oh I'm sorry Iruka-sensei!" Naruto apologized, still under the Henge of an old man.

"Oh it's fine… Do I know you?" Iruka asked, looking slightly embarrassed and put off.

Naruto felt like smacking himself. '_Idiot!'_ he mentally berated himself.

"Well, I do know that you are a teacher at the academy! My neighbor's children always speak about you! Unfortunately we have never had the pleasure. I do apologize though I must be on my way." Naruto bowed before Iruka before walking past him.

"You're fine sir, be safe out there." Iruka said before walking away as well.

Naruto kept walking on, feeling totally embarrassed.

'_I can't believe I nearly ran into him! I would have broken the Henge and been exposed, especially if the person we're looking for saw me! I nearly botched the entire mission. I should have sensed… him…earlier…'_

Naruto looked around and saw Iruka walking along.

Naruto closed his eyes trying to sense Iruka's chakra.

'_I can't sense anything… This could be it.'_

He tapped his communicator.

"I may have something… Sakura, could you check to see if Iruka is at his apartment? I know you're close by."

"What is it Naruto?" Kakashi's voice came through.

"I'll let you know when I'm entirely sure… Sakura, please check on that for me" Naruto said. He tapped the earpiece again switching it off before dropping the Henge and leaping on top of a building.

"Naruto its Sakura. Iruka is just getting home… drunk I think…" she giggled slightly.

"Are you sure it's him?" Naruto asked.

"Positive" was her reply.

"Kakashi, I need you to back me up, I'll send a clone to replace you're position" he said as he made the cross sign and a clone poofed to existence behind him.

"Copy that" Kakashi replied.

The Naruto clone set off towards the neighborhood Kakashi was patrolling. The original Naruto continued trailing the Iruka he had spotted.

'_Who the hell is this guy? I can't sense him at all.'_

Naruto then sensed Kakashi coming towards him.

Kakashi walked up to Naruto as they watched the fake Iruka. Kakashi quickly raised his Hitai-ate revealing his Sharingan.

"Weird… It's not a Henge… Are you sure it's an imposter?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded. "There was something off about him… Plus, I can't sense his chakra at all. Not even a blip on my radar. Even with civilians I can sense them."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Tapping his earpiece he spoke quietly, "Sasuke, Sakura, come straight to Naruto's position."

There was no reply.

"Kakashi, I couldn't hear that on my communicator" said Naruto.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "You didn't sense any fluctuation in any chakra source nearby did you?"

Naruto shook his head.

Kakashi sighed. "Stay on top of him but don't do anything until I get back."

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"To check on something and to get Sakura and Sasuke" he replied.

Naruto nodded as Kakashi seemed to vanish.

Naruto looked down at the fake Iruka who had stopped and began to look around.

Naruto grit his teeth. '_Why the hell can't I sense this bastard?'_

The fake Iruka then walked over to a door to a house.

Naruto drew a kunai. '_Sorry Kakashi, I may need to do something if you don't get back quickly enough.'_

Suddenly, he heard something whizzing through the air. Naruto jumped out of the way just as a kunai landed where he had just been.

He looked around and saw nothing.

"Dammit, where the hell did that come from?" He whispered to himself.

He then heard running from below. He glanced down to see that the fake Iruka was running down the street, looking up at him.

"Dammit!" growled Naruto.

Suddenly an ANBU appeared in front of him.

Before Naruto could say anything, the ANBU had struck him with a powerful punch to the chest and sent him flying through the air and into the alley below.

Naruto landed painfully on his back.

Naruto jumped backwards and landed on his feet as a kunai hit where his head had just been.

He looked up to see the ANBU staring down at him.

'_I don't think this is an even fight…'_ Naruto thought. Then he saw another kunai whiz towards the ANBU.

The masked man jumped out of the way just as Kakashi appeared before him.

"Are you okay Naruto?" he called out to his student without taking both his regular eye and his uncovered Sharingan eye off of the ANBU.

"Yeah I'm fine" replied the young Genin.

"Good, go after the imposter" Kakashi ordered.

Naruto nodded as he ran down the street as fast as he could in the direction he had seen the fake Iruka run.

Kakashi stared the ANBU down.

"Very clever, using seals around the perimeter to block all communication devices within a certain range. But what exposed you was the second set of seals around an even larger perimeter blocking any sensor type of Shinobi from using their abilities. It even watered down the effects my Sharingan had. But another clue that an ANBU was involved was the fact that your thief wasn't under a full Henge but was also disguised using makeup which was why my Sharingan couldn't see through the charade."

The ANBU said nothing as it stared at Kakashi.

"So, the silent type I see. That's fine by me." Kakashi drew a kunai from the pouch.

The ANBU then sprung into action, forming seals quickly.

Kakashi mimicked the same seals, already having copied it years before.

Lighting shot from between their fingers at each other.

"Not many lighting elements in Konohagakure… Meaning you aren't from around here."

The ANBU chuckled.

"I may as well ditch this then" he said as he pulled the mask off revealing a darker man underneath it.

"I'm guessing you're a Shinobi from Kumo… Correct?" Kakashi asked.

"I was… I'm a missing-nin now though. I left my village years ago."

Kakashi nodded. "Then seeing as you're from Kumo, you must know who I am."

"I do Kakashi…"

Naruto sped down the street and reached a fork in the road. Without hesitation he produced a clone, taking the left, while the other took the right.

Naruto grit his teeth as he sped down the street avoiding a few people here and there.

'_A fucking ANBU? This is more like another 'A' ranked mission…'_ he thought angrily.

"Why do we always get the bad intel?" Naruto growled to himself as he rocketed forward.

Then, something caught his attention in his peripheral vision.

He skidded to a halt and backtracked to see the fake Iruka running down a side street.

'_Not on my watch asshole'_ thought the blonde Genin.

Naruto jumped up onto the building tops and began to chase down his target.

He quickly gained on the man and before he knew it, he was ahead.

He jumped down into the alley below.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto yelled.

The fake Iruka glared as he withdrew a few kunai and threw them at Naruto.

The Genin jumped out of the way as they flew past him.

'_I don't think this guy is a civilian… He was dead on target right there'_ he thought to himself.

He landed as he created two clones with him.

Suddenly his communicator crackled to life.

"Naruto, Kakashi do you copy?" came Sasuke's voice.

The two Naruto clones ran towards the imposter.

"I'm in the market district and need backup. Sasuke you get over here now!" He said as he grabbed a kunai and threw it into the air. It exploded above the buildings.

"I see you" Sasuke said.

Naruto then joined the fray with his clones.

Kakashi dodged another lightning attack before going through the same seals and using it on him.

Kakashi flipped over a swipe from the opposing Shinobi's blade.

He ran through a few more seals before he had to stop and jump out of the way from a Bunshin that attacked him.

'_Just a few more minutes…'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

The missing-nin halted his attack for a moment and looked across the village to see an explosion.

'_They found him… Meaning they're calling for backup'_ the Shinobi thought with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry Kakashi but this fight is over." He began to run through hand seals when he sensed his seals being broken suddenly.

He looked at Kakashi as he stopped his hand seals.

"So you actually did call for backup after all…" he said with a scowl.

Kakashi shrugged. "ANBU have been notified and are surrounding the area. No way in or out."

The Shinobi chuckled. "Very clever Hatake… I guess that leaves me no choice but to this."

He smiled before clenching his jaw. Suddenly, he was on the ground convulsing, blood began dripping from his eyes.

"Damn it." Kakashi said aloud.

'_Suicide pill… He wasn't a free agent it seems. The only reason to do that is to protect information.'_ He walked to the dying man and saw the tears of blood.

'_Clever… The pill must have destroyed his brain, turning it to mush. That way Yamanaka couldn't go in and pry the information.'_

He sighed as he lowered his headband. An ANBU appeared behind him wearing a cat's mask.

"Take the corpse to Ibiki, he'll figure something out with it" Kakashi said.

"I'll go help my student's with the thief."

Naruto grinned as the fireball barely missed his opponent.

"It's about time you got here Sasuke!" he called out.

Sasuke landed next to him. "Don't complain you idiot."  
The fake Iruka gripped his kunai even tighter. After all, it was now two against one.

"You may as well just surrender now" Sasuke said as he withdrew his own kunai.

The imposter said nothing as he took a step backwards.

Then, something fell out of his pocket and hit the ground. Suddenly, smoke engulfed the area.

"Damn! A smoke bomb!" Naruto exclaimed as he began to cough.

Sasuke ran forward through the smoke.

Just as he ran out of the large cloud, he found the man on the ground, bleeding from his eyes and frothing from the mouth.

'_Is he having a seizure?'_ Sasuke thought in surprise.

Naruto appeared next to him, his eyes tearing up from the smoke.

"What the hell?" Naruto exclaimed. He knelt beside the man and felt for a pulse.

"I think he's dead…" Naruto said slowly. "Did you do this?" he asked Sasuke.

The Uchiha shook his head. "I just found him like this."

"Where's Sakura?" came Kakashi's voice.

They turned around to see him walking through the disappearing smoke.

"Right here" came her voice as she ran up to them all.

They were all silent for a moment.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you know what happened to him?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Suicide pill. It's a last resort for Shinobi who are caught by the enemy to protect information" he sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"So does this mean the mission was a failure?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi nodded. "But this mission turned out to be at least a B rank, so the Hokage may be more lenient with us… I wonder though, why do we always get the faulty information?"

Naruto and the others shrugged.

Naruto woke up a few weeks later, ready for another day of training.

'_Stupid D ranked missions… Why can't we do more C ranks?'_ he thought to himself as he ate a bowl of ramen.

He smiled as he finished the broth.

"Couldn't help but cheat on my diet" he sighed.

He stood up and stood underneath the door from and marked his height.

He frowned. "It's only been a week but shouldn't I have grown a bit more?"

He walked away and took his shower before getting dressed and leaving.

He walked along seeing the various types of villagers going about their business.

A few of them nodded towards him or even said hello, but a majority of them simply glared at him.

'_Well, one good thing about D ranked missions is getting the villagers opinions of me to change one by one.'_ He smiled slightly as he remembered helping out at the Inuzuka kennel and having Hana call him moderately attractive without the orange suit.

He arrived to find Sasuke and Sakura already waiting for him and Kakashi.

He nodded to Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke nodded back as usual while Sakura looked away.

They waited in silence for only a few minutes when Kakashi suddenly poofed before them.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his quick appearance.

"Didn't feel like keeping us waiting eh Sensei?" he smiled at his teacher.

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, today I figured we'd take the day off from missions and training and celebrate."

Squad seven all looked confused.

"Celebrate what?" They asked in unison.

Kakashi held up three slips of paper.

"Well, you've all been doing so well, that I figured that I'd enter you into the Chunin selection exam."  
This grabbed their attention.

"The Chunin exams? Are you sure?" Naruto exclaimed happily.

Kakashi nodded. "So let's all go to a restaurant my treat."

Ino Yamanaka sighed as Choji drooled over the barbeque pork that was currently cooking in front of them.

Asuma smiled to the three of them. "I hope the three of you all do your very best in the exams tomorrow!"

Shikamaru yawned and nodded. "Sure sure…"

Ino glared over at Shikamaru. "Shika! Stop being so unmotivated about everything! We need to pass these exams!"

"Why? So Sasuke will finally notice you?" he asked.

Ino glared at the lazy Genin. "Maybe!"

"Well, why don't you just go say hi to him, he just walked in." Choji said as he snatched on of the sticks of pork and devoured it.

Ino whirled around to see Sasuke walk in with a blonde kid wearing a red coat with black flames adorning the bottom of it.

Sakura was right behind them looking slightly depressed followed by a taller man wearing standard Jonin garbs and a face mask. Only one of his eyes was visible and his shock of silver hair stuck up at a strange angle.

"Sasuke!" Ino cried out as she jumped out of her booth and tackled Sasuke with a hug.

The blonde next to him laughed slightly and continued forward without another word.

Ino looked over at Sakura who was currently staring daggers at her rival.

"Oh hey there forehead! I can't believe I didn't see you there, I mean who could miss that giant forehead?" Ino chuckled.

"Try not to break Sasuke's back Ino-pig." Sakura seethed.

Kakashi slid past the small feud, slightly chuckling as well.

Ino continued to hold onto the raven haired Sasuke who was looking for a way out of the situation.

"So where's Naruto?" Ino asked as she looked around.

Sasuke saw his chance and slipped through Ino's grasp before walking away, mumbling under his breath.

Ino didn't seem to mind too much.

"He's sitting over there with Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said as she glared at Ino.

"Really? Where? I don't see that orange get up of his." Ino looked around for it.

Sakura said nothing and decided to walk towards her team. Unfortunately Ino followed.

"So are you going to be in the Chunin exam as well? Or is your team not good enough, after all, the only good member is Sasuke."

Sakura walked up to Kakashi who was currently speaking with Asuma.

"Of course we'd love to sit with you guys!" she heard him say.

'_Shit…'_

'_**SHIT!'**_her inner self exclaimed.

Soon, they were all cramped together in the booth. Ino sat next to Sakura but across from the blonde kid.

"Hi there I'm Ino Yamanaka" she introduced herself.

Sasuke chuckled as did Shikamaru and even Choji. Sakura just looked at her strangely while the blonde kid began to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" asked Ino as she looked around them all.

"I already know you" the blonde boy said.

"You do?" she asked surprised.

The blonde nodded as he went back to talking to Sasuke who was sitting beside him.

Ino leaned over to Sakura. "Who is that?" she whispered.

"Naruto…" Sakura said with distaste.

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Naruto?" she exclaimed.

Naruto looked up at her. "What is it?"

She stared at him in disbelief. Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

Naruto felt confused. "What is there something on my face?" he felt around his face awkwardly.

'_No way this is that annoying brat from the academy! He seems quiet and composed. He even looks slightly attractive! Plus he's talking to Sasuke-kun! What the hell!'_

Naruto shrugged and went back to talking to Sasuke as Ino stared at him.

A few seconds later, she laughed. Again, Naruto raised an eyebrow at her behavior.

"To think that the Dobe is getting his act together" Ino laughed. "You were even the first to kill out of the rookie nine."

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto whose eyes were currently hidden by his bangs.

Shikamaru glanced over at Naruto at this. Sakura didn't react at all.

Choji had halted his eating and stared at Ino, completely dumbfounded. Kakashi shook his head while Asuma was coughing, accidentally inhaling too much from his cigarette.

Ino slapped a hand to her mouth. '_Oops… Need to think before thinking…'_ she thought, recalling what her father would often say to her.

"I'm so sorry Naruto I didn't mean to bring that up I just…" Naruto interrupted her though.

"It's fine Ino-san. If you'd all excuse me I don't feel very well." He stood up and ran out of the restaurant.

Ino felt horrible. '_Oh my god I'm such an idiot.'_

Naruto threw up in the alley way, Gato's face floating to the front of his mind again.

'_Dammit… Why can't I get over this?'_ He wiped his mouth the taste still lingering.

He wiped the sweat from his face that had appeared.

He looked around the alley he was in. "I'd better go home and change… Plenty of time to train."

He walked out of the alley to find Kakashi waiting for him.

"You didn't have to leave as well Kakashi-sensei" Naruto scowled.

"I just wanted to let you know that if you do want to compete in the exams, be at this address tomorrow at nine" he said as he handed him the piece of paper that Naruto must have dropped in the restaurant.

"Oh… Thanks" he said as he took the paper and placed it in his pocket.

"I'll let Yamanaka know that you aren't mad… Just… not feeling well."

Naruto shrugged. "I don't care about her mentioning Gato… but let her know that I'll get her back for the Dobe remark." He turned around and walked towards his apartment.

Ino said nothing as everyone remaining continued to talk. Sakura was busy talking to Shikamaru about a few missions they'd had recently while Choji slept on the bench upright after consuming as much food as was allowed.

Asuma pat her on the back. "I'm sure he's okay" he told the Yamanaka.

She said nothing until she noticed Kakashi enter.

"Is he mad?" she asked.

Kakashi looked over at her. "About the killing comment? No… But I'd watch my back if I were you" he said.

"I thought you said he wasn't bothered by my comment" Ino said, feeling irritated at Kakashi.

"He isn't… But he didn't appreciate the 'Dobe' comment… So he told me to let you know that he'll get his revenge on you."

Ino gulped, her mind suddenly afloat of images of Naruto holding a bloody kunai.

Kakashi seemed to sense this. "He'll probably just pull a prank on you is all" he said as he sat down. "Hm? Where's Sasuke?"

"He left just after you did" Asuma said as he took a drag from his cigarette.

Kakashi nodded. "I see." He took a look over at Sakura. "Did you read the note?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'll be there tomorrow" she said.

"Good good… Well I'm going to get going." He said as he poofed out of existence.

Ino raised an eyebrow at this. "Couldn't he just get up and walk away?"

Asuma laughed.

Ino and Sakura walked down the road that afternoon.

"So that's Naruto's new look eh? Not too shabby. Beats that orange jumpsuit" chuckled Ino.

Sakura shuddered. "That was a pretty bad outfit. Remember the goggles?"

Ino laughed. "Those weren't too bad! So that's your team? Not too bad, but mine's better, even without Sasuke."

Sakura grinned. "I doubt that Ino-pig."

Ino sighed. "So Sasuke and Naruto are friends I take it?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, it's really weird. Didn't think that Sasuke would even give Naruto the time of day."

"They're total opposites" Ino said as she imagined the two side by side. "Sasuke's so much cooler and cuter."

"And stronger" Sakura added.

Ino nodded. "Naruto couldn't beat him on Sasuke's worst day."

"Hey shut up!" came a little boy's voice.

The two female Genin noticed two boys and a girl all wearing goggles glaring at them.

"Naruto-niisan is the best!" yelled the boy with a large scarf around him.

"You kids know Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"He's our boss!" Konohamaru proclaimed. "I'm Konohamaru, this Moegi and that's Udon!"

Ino chuckled. "So you don't know who Sasuke Uchiha is then. Because compared to Sasuke-kun, Naruto is second rate." Sakura nodded profusely next to her rival.

"As if two ugly girls would know anything about cool!"

Suddenly, an evil aura surrounded Ino and Sakura.

"Say that again…" Sakura growled. Udon and Moegi slowly backed away, but Konohamaru held his ground.

"You two are fat and ugly old hags!"

Naruto was walking home after practicing his newest Jutsu for most of the day when he heard Sakura's and Ino's voice cry out at the same time.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Naruto saw the dust trail in the distance of a few people running at high speeds.

'_This can't be good'_ he thought to himself as he went after them as well.

Konohamaru rounded a corner and looked back to see them gaining on him when he ran into something solid and fell to the ground in pain.

Konohamaru groaned painfully as he heard someone saying something about watching where he was going. Then, he was lifted off his feet by someone holding the front of his shirt.

He opened his eyes to see a boy in a black outfit and hood with some kind of war paint on his face.

"I should teach you a lesson" the boy said.

"Kankuro! You shouldn't do this! He'll get mad at you!" A blonde girl said behind him.

"Relax Temari, I'm just teaching the kid something!"

Sakura and Ino rounded the corner to see what was happening.

"We're sorry it was our fault" Ino said when she realized what had happened. "We were chasing after him and…"

"I don't care!" Kankuro said loudly as he raised his fist. "Kid needs to be taught manners."

Konohamaru closed his eyes when he heard the air whoosh around him before someone was carrying him.

He opened his eyes to see Naruto setting him on the ground.

"Niisan!" he exclaimed.

"Great more brats!" Kankuro exclaimed, a boot mark on his face.

Konohamaru now saw that Kankuro was kind of tall and was carrying something on his back that was wrapped in bandages.

Kankuro took the object off of his back.

Naruto glared at the man, prepared for anything as he drew a kunai when he sensed two presences in the tree to his left.

"Sasuke! Stop hiding and get down here… Same with the other guy up there!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked to his left and saw a short red headed kid standing upside down on a branch not far from him.

'_I didn't even notice him get here.'_ Sasuke thought worriedly. He then jumped out of the tree and landed next to Naruto.

The red head disappeared in a sand Shunshin and reappeared next to Kankuro.

"Very impressive" the red head said in a monotone voice.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "That goes for the three of you hiding as well."

One of the trees further off rustled as three strange Shinobi appeared as well.

Naruto and Sasuke noticed that their headbands had a music note on it.

'_Sound? Never heard of them'_ thought Naruto with a scowl.

"Mind telling us who you are and why you're here?" Sasuke asked a scowl on his face as well.

"My name is Gaara…" the red head said first, his eyes plastered to Naruto.

"Kankuro here is my brother and I'm Temari" said the blonde girl.

The three sound-nin said nothing but continued to stare at Naruto as well.

"Mind telling us why foreign Shinobi are in our country?" Sakura asked stepping forward.

Temari snickered. "The Chunin exams of course."  
Naruto and Sasuke both looked curious at this.

"So all of you are participating as well then?" Ino asked.

Gaara made no indication that he was listening but his teammate Temari nodded.

Naruto stared at Gaara. '_Why the hell is he looking at me like that?'_ he wondered. Suddenly, a slight pain in his stomach made him wince.

'_What the hell was that?'_ he wondered. Gaara noticed this for a moment and seemed to tilt back but other than that made no other indication that anything had happened.

'_What is this feeling of…dread?'_ Gaara wondered.

Naruto clenched a fist. "Well, next time you grab any citizen on Konohagakure like that again, and I'll make sure you're properly handled." Naruto glared at Kankuro at this point.

"Especially if you handle the Hokage's grandson like that again" he spat out.

Temari, Kankuro, Ino and Sakura all gasped.

'_We could have been in serious trouble just now…'_ they all thought.

The three sound-nin said nothing, but Sasuke did notice that they seemed unusually tense.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he withdrew a kunai.

"Nothing" the one whose face was hidden in bandages said.

Naruto glared over at them. "Is there a reason why you were watching all of us?"

"Measuring up the competition and I've gotta say, I'm not worried" the other male said. The female chuckled at this.

"Then continue to underestimate us, it will give us the advantage" Sasuke growled.

Naruto turned around and began to walk off. "Just to be polite, my name is Naruto Uzumaki…"

Sasuke and Konohamaru followed Naruto as Sakura and Ino slowly backtracked before turning around as well.

"Let's go" Gaara said as he turned around and walked away, not even glancing at the sound ninja.

Temari and Kankuro both followed, eyeing the three other Shinobi as they passed them.

"Keep an eye on the boy without a personality and Uchiha as planned… But also that Naruto kid…" The bandaged Shinobi said.

Kakashi arrived at the Hokage tower with the rest of the Jonin to find he was only a half hour late.

"It seems that they have all assembled" Kurenai said.

"So begin the Chunin Exams" spoke the Hokage.

_**There you have it. So the exams are starting and I only slightly changed how everyone met each other. Chapter 7 is on its way and I'll be out with it soon.**_

_**And sorry for everyone expecting a meeting between Ino and Naruto with sparks flying. I just wanted them to slowly develop some type of friendship that will be slowly flushed out over the next few chapters. And no, there won't be romantic sparks flying for a while either. Ino and Naruto will clash, a lot. **_

_**Well, thanks again to the fan that motivated me to get back to this. Again it won't happen again.  
**_

_**Sorry for the very VERY long wait and it won't happen.**_

_**Have a nice day and please review.**_


	7. The Exams Begin

_******Updated**** A couple mistakes were pointed out to me so I went in and fixed them. Thank you for the heads up... Despite the delivery of one of them... -_-**_

_**Well it's been a long time… Too long to be honest. But I am back and I am going to be writing once again. Now I'm sorry if the quality of the chapter is sub par, but it has been quite some time since I've had time to write something. Plus, I'm not a fan of the first part of the Chunin exams.**_

_**I've said this many times in the past, but I WILL, be trying to bring more chapters more frequently. So after much waiting, here is chapter seven.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 7 **_

_**The Exams Begin**_

* * *

Sakura woke with a start. The dog across the street was barking like mad and had interrupted her dream of her and Sasuke.

Sunlight streamed through her curtains illuminating her room. '_Guess I should be getting up anyways…'_ she thought to herself. She slowly hauled herself out of bed, nothing like a delicate lady that she fancied herself to be. But she hated the mornings and couldn't give a damn.

Stifling a yawn she began her morning routine when it suddenly hit her.

The Chunin Exams were today. Her stomach churned at the thought of it. '_Am I ready for this? I've heard the exams can be dangerous.'_

Suddenly, as if in response to this train of thought, she imagined what Naruto would say.

"We've been in plenty of danger! I doubt the exams could be worse than Zabuza!"

Sakura sighed. Naruto, (imaginary Naruto that is) was right. Zabuza was one of the legendary seven swordsmen of the mist and these were simply the Chunin exams. If they could survive that, she was sure they could breeze though this.

"Still… It feels like this could turn into something else" she muttered as she glanced at the rising sun out her window.

* * *

Sasuke had woken long before the sun had begun to rise. He had decided to forgo his morning routine and simply meditate. The thought of the Chunin Exams had brought back memories of Itachi. He had gone through these same exams when he was much younger than Sasuke was now. '_These exams will show me if I'm on my way… If Itachi could do it when he was ten, then I should be able to breeze through it.'_

Sasuke looked towards the sun, activating his Sharingan. '_I need to be able to use these eyes as if it were second nature…' _ He deactivated them before reactivating them.

"I will kill you…" Sasuke muttered.

With that he gathered up his Shuriken and Kunai and left his house.

* * *

Konohagakure was bathed in warm sunlight as the various stores and shops opened. It was a beautiful day, one fitting for the beginning of the Chunin Exams.

At least, that was Naruto Uzumaki's thoughts as he looked out on his home village from the top of the Hokage monument. He looked down on the carved head of his father.

'_I bet you'd be lecturing me if you were still alive, giving me advice on how to get through these exams.'_

He could practically imagine the Yondaime Hokage sitting him down at a breakfast table, making sure he had supplies ready for whatever may come his way.

"That's probably what's happening to the others" he said softly, thinking of the other rookies.

He continued to stare out at his village from atop his fathers monument, imagining what today would be like if his parents were still alive.

'_With him raising me, I'm sure I'd be a lot stronger than I am right now.'_

He wiped away the tears that were beginning to gather in his eyes and turned around. Walking away from the monument Naruto made a vow to himself. '_No matter what, I promise that I'll make you proud of me today.'_

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all met up at the same time in front of the academy they used to attend.

Sasuke nodded to the two of them. Sakura said nothing which Naruto took notice of. '_She's nervous'_ he thought to himself.

"Before we go in there, I just want to say that we'll all get through the exam. We can all beat out the rest of them. They didn't fight Zabuza and Haku and live! Think about that, we took on one of the seven swordsman of the mist and we're still Genin. Becoming Chunin will be a cinch."

Sasuke smirked.

"We even have Kakashi as our sensei and you saw how much ass he's kicked! They don't have shit on us!" Naruto yelled out pumping his fist. "So let's go become Chunin!"

With that said he stormed forward, Sasuke and Sakura trailing behind him.

'_There's the old Naruto'_ Sakura thought with a smirk. '_Full of energy and full of himself.'_

As they entered the academy and climbed the stairs to the third floor, Naruto felt a shift in the air but paid it no mind.

Sasuke seemed to stop for a moment before continuing after Naruto. Sakura narrowed her eyes, sensing something had gone amiss. '_Is this part of the exams?'_ she wondered. She decided not to say anything in the meantime, wanting to make sure she wasn't wrong.

As they got to the third floor, Naruto saw something happen at the end of the hall. He quickened his pace to see what was happening. But when he saw that Rock Lee of all people was being effectively blocked from entering the room they needed to get to, he got angry.

Lee was sent to the ground by a solid punch to his face. This stopped Naruto in his tracks. '_That punch… I've seen stronger punches that Lee's been unfazed from… What's going on?'_

He glanced over at Tenten who was now pleading that they let them in the room.

'_Tenten pleading with these weaklings? I've never heard her like this!'_ Then it hit him.

'_It's all a ruse! They want people to think they're weak so that they can take them by surprise!'_ Naruto grinned. '_We should do that as well.' _He glanced over to see Sasuke talking to the two guarding the door. Before Naruto could focus on what was being said, Sasuke and one of the boys guarding the door charged each other.

'_Son of a…'_ his curse was interrupted when Rock Lee intervened by catching both boys' kicks with ease. '_Well there goes his plan…'_ Naruto thought with a sigh. Tenten was having the same train of thought as Naruto.

Sasuke back away, eyes narrowed and looking at Rock Lee. '_He was just being kicked around by this idiot, and then suddenly he's able to catch my kick with ease… What's his angle?'_

Tenten began berating Rock Lee for blowing their cover when he looked past both Sasuke and Naruto at their pink haired companion. Then he blushed.

Naruto glanced at what Lee was staring at and then back at Lee.

'_Oh dear god he has a crush on Sakura!'_ He thought in astonishment.

Ignoring the Uchiha as well as his friend, Rock Lee approached Sakura.

"Hello, you must be Sakura-chan! My name is Rock Lee. Will you go out on a date with me? I'll protect you with my life!" At this point, Lee flashed her a glimmering smile, a wink and a thumbs up.

Sakura stared at the odd Genin and said flatly, "Never."

Lee fell to the ground as if he'd been crushed.

Sasuke regarded the weeping Lee for a moment when he heard someone approaching him. He turned to see a young Hyuga boy approaching them.

"You, what's your name?" he asked Sasuke in a demanding tone.

"You should provide your own name before requesting someone else's" Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes.

The Hyuga gave him a disapproving look when Tenten decided to answer for him. "His name is Neji Hyuga, and my name is Tenten." She blushed slightly at addressing Sasuke.

Continuing to stare down the Hyuga, Sasuke replied with his own name.

Naruto said nothing, but gave Tenten a slight nod.

She glanced at him but did not react otherwise.

'_So this is their teammate… he's an asshole'_ Naruto thought to himself, slowly regarding Neji.

As if he could sense Naruto's eyes on him he turned to look at him.

"Is there a problem?" he asked the blonde.

Naruto took a moment before answering. "Nothing of significance" he said smirking.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "You must be Naruto Uzumaki. As far as I'm concerned, you're just another failure."

Naruto grit his teeth. '_The balls on this guy.'_

Neji turned and walked away. "Come Tenten, Lee…"

Sakura chose that moment to grab Sasuke and Naruto by the wrists and drag them away.

Naruto glanced at the door they were supposed to go through and saw that they were on the second floor. '_Genjutsu I guess… Explains that weird feeling from earlier.'_

* * *

Gaara slowly surveyed the room. '_Not yet…'_ he thought to himself. Ever since he had met the blonde, the Ichibi sealed within him had been unsettled and that intrigued the young red head.

He felt his sister shift behind him.

"Gaara what's the matter?' Temari asked. Gaara continued to stare at the large room full of other Genin. Many had decided to keep their distance away from the sand siblings.

"He is not here… Naruto Uzumaki… He interests me…" Gaara said.

Temari remembered the blonde boy from the day before and her little brother had been acting strange ever since.

'_He didn't seem like much…'_ she thought to herself. But perhaps Gaara had sensed something else about the boy. Nothing ever interested him.

The doors opened and Gaara saw team seven walk through the doors. '_It's him!'_ he thought. Suddenly he felt the Ichibi stir about. '_What about this Uzumaki boy causes you to act like this?' _he wondered.

* * *

As team seven walked in the door, Naruto was immediately aware of an anomaly amongst the Genin in the room. He traced his eyes among the crowd until he locked eyes with the red headed sand Genin from the day before.

'_I sense something in him other than his own chakra… Something darker… It's familiar.'_ He narrowed his eyes at the odd boy. He was interested to find out more about Gaara but the boy didn't seem like he'd be very talkative.

Breaking away from staring at the boy he glanced at Sasuke. "You ok?" he asked the raven haired Uchiha.

Sasuke nodded, however he looked very unhappy. Naruto wasn't surprised. Before they had entered the room, Rock Lee had decided to challenge Sasuke to test his abilities against and had been winning against the Uchiha's Sharingan until Naruto and Gai-sensei had decided to intervene. Lee had been about to unleash the lotus technique and as Naruto had interrupted the jutsu as Lee had kicked Sasuke into the air, Gai-sensei had also appeared from hiding and lectured the young boy about attempting to use the technique.

Sasuke and Sakura hadn't met Gai before and were therefore taken by surprise by how strange the man had been.

Now they had arrived to the room they were supposed to be only to be greeted with hostility and another odd Genin who had taken a strange interest in Naruto.

As they skirted along the edge, a voice rang out loudly that made Sakura groan.

"SASUKE-KUUUN!" Suddenly Ino Yamanaka was on Sasuke's back.

"Get off of him Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled, shaking her fist at the blonde girl.

Naruto chuckled as he noticed Sasuke's pained expression at being harassed by the Yamanaka.

Ino pulled a face at Sakura. "So you guys are participating in the Chunin exams. I honestly didn't think you'd show up, but I guess you do need to support Sasuke.

Naruto and Sakura both frowned at this.

'_She's still annoying…'_ Naruto thought to himself. Ino noticed Naruto's frown.

"What? Was it something I said?" she asked nervously, remembering Kakashi's warning from the day before about Naruto getting back at her.

Naruto hesitated before saying anything. "Where are your teammates? You must be here to support them."

Before Ino could answer, Shikamaru and Choji came into view. "God Ino, you're so loud…"

Choji said nothing as he was too busy eating potato chips.

"For your information Uzumaki, I'm here not to support these idiots, but to become a Chunin myself."

Naruto feigned surprise. "I see. Well I just wanted to make sure. I mean after all, you did assume that Sakura and I were just support, so I figured that's why you were here. An honest mistake."

"Whoa! Was that really Naruto just talking now?" Came the voice of one Kiba Inuzuka.

Naruto turned to find the Inuzuka sporting a jacket, his hood pulled up and the small dog Akamaru resting atop his head.

He had not changed since they had all left the academy.

"Kiba, so you're team is here as well?" Naruto asked.

As if to answer, Shino and Hinata both appeared behind Kiba. "Yep. We're here to climb up the ranks" Kiba said enthusiastically.

"You have changed quite a bit Naruto-san" Shino said stoically. Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well I figured with all the dangerous missions we were going to start taking, I needed to crack down on myself."

Shino nodded approvingly. "Well it seems that you have made quite a bit of progress. I myself am very impressed."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks! That means a lot coming from someone of the Aburame clan."

"Your manners have also improved" Shino observed. Naruto shrugged. He then glanced at Hinata who seemed to go red at that instant.

"How's it going Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"I…it's going w…well Naruto-kun…" Hinata stuttered.

'_Is she ok?'_ Naruto wondered to himself but said nothing about it.

Kiba chuckled. "So what was with the attitude towards Ino? Not that I'm complaining."

Naruto glanced at the Yamanaka. "Just clarifying some things is all." With that said he turned back to team 8.

"So you guys think you're ready for the Chunin exams?"

Kiba grinned. "You have no idea the missions we've been on!" At this he began to go in thorough detail of all the 'C' and 'B' ranked missions they'd been on.

While bragging to Naruto, Ino had let go of Sasuke and was now speaking to Sakura.

"You weren't kidding about Naruto… He's a completely different person. More mature, he isn't just flying off the handle. I have to admit, even though I'm kinda mad about his treating me earlier; I'm more impressed than pissed."

Sakura nodded. "You should see him fight now. He's almost as good as Sasuke."

Ino glanced at the Uchiha. "So those two… Are they friends now? They're not glaring at each other like they used to."

Sakura shrugged. "I think they are friends as weird as that is, the genius and dobe of the academy hanging out together."

Ino grinned. "Well no wonder he got cooler, it's because he's been hanging around Sasuke."

Sakura shook her head. "It's not that… He's changed since before they became friends. They hated each other until recently. There's something else going on with Naruto."  
Ino looked at the blonde who was listening silently to Kiba go on about some intense life or death mission.

"We should really look into this Sakura. I say we make a temporary truce on the fight for Sasuke-kun and find out what happened to Uzumaki to cause this…change."

Sakura nodded, however before they could go any further, a voice interrupted all of their conversations.

"Hey, you kids, you should really keep it down." An older, silver haired Genin wearing glasses approached them.

"What's it to you?" Kiba asked loudly. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Something about the boy seemed off. The silver hair boy adjusted his glasses.

"Well, the nine of you aren't particularly liked… Take a look for yourselves" he said, gesturing behind him.

The entire room was glaring at the nine rookie Genin.

"It's easy to tell that you're all first timers. Now since everyone is probably going to be out to eliminate the weakest, IE you guys, and I may as well help you out and give you some information."  
Naruto decided to speak up. "What kind of information can you give us?"

The boy smiled. "Information on the other participants. Let me first introduce myself. My name is Kabuto Yakushi. I've participated in the Chunin exams seven times prior, so I've definitely picked up a few things along the way."

"Seven times?!" exclaimed Ino. Naruto narrowed his eyes at this point. '_Seven times? He feels stronger than an average Genin or even Chunin… So how could he fail these things seven times? They can't be that hard can they?'_ wondered Naruto.

Kabuto reached into his pack and pulled out a deck of orange cards with a blank side.

"With these ninja info cards, I can look up the statistics of any individual. Anyone have a name they'd like me to look up?"

Sasuke's interest soared at this point and without a single thought said three names.

Rock Lee of Konohagakure, Gaara no Sabaku of Sunagakure, and Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure."

Naruto shot Sasuke an angry look. '_Kabuto shouldn't have too much on me… But what if he has certain types of information that can't get out… Not yet at least.'_

The rest of the nine rookies looked shocked at Sasuke. He was requesting information about his own teammate.

Sasuke ignored Naruto's glare and focused on the silver haired Genin before him.

'_I need to know the extent of your abilities Naruto… The more I find out about you, the more questions I have.'_

Kabuto grinned. '_So he's suspicious of his own teammate… That's smart.'_

"You know where they're from as well! That will make this much easier."

He withdrew three seemingly random cards from the deck and channeled chakra into the cards.

With small puffs of smoke, Kabuto laid them on the ground.

"Well let's take a look now. First up we have Rock Lee. Looking over his statistics, he highly proficient in Taijutsu, in fact better than anyone here. However, his ninjutsu and Genjutsu are nonexistent. He graduated the year before you guys, but this is his first time at the Chunin exams. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga while their sensei is Maito Gai."

Naruto grit his teeth. '_How does he know so much about Lee?'_

"As for mission completion, 42 D-rank, 21 C-rank. Not bad at all."

Kabuto picked up the card and put it back in the deck.

"Now on to Gaara no Sabaku. Well that is strange. His Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu are all unknown… His mission records I do have however. It stands at, 0 D-rank, 32 C-rank, and wow even a B-rank. Also, there's a note here that says every mission he's been on, he's returned from completely unscathed."

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked across the room at the sand Genin.

'_Without a scratch? The mission to wave was at least an A-rank, and Kakashi still got injured during that… Surely this kid isn't stronger than Kakashi… Is he?'_

Gaara stared back at Naruto, with a completely blank look.

The other Genin seemed to be having similar reactions to the news of Gaara.

"Well… Let's take a look at the last request." Kabuto announced. He flipped over the card that contained Naruto's information. Glancing at Kabuto, Naruto saw something in the Genin's eye that he couldn't pinpoint exactly.

'_Does he know what I am? My father? Or about the Kyubi?"_

"Well, starting with his statistics… His Genjutsu is abysmal." Kiba chuckled at this as did Shikamaru.

'_Well he's not wrong…'_ Naruto thought with a roll of his eyes.

"However, it shows his Taijutsu is above average, as is his Ninjutsu."

This surprised those that were not a part of team seven, save for Shino who stood there stoically.

'_Above average Taijutsu and Ninjutsu? Naruto?'_ Ino thought to herself. She looked over at Sakura to see that she was not disputing this fact.

"As for mission stats, we have 43 D-rank and 2 A-rank missions."

The other Genin were shocked to hear that Naruto and his team had two A-ranked missions under their belt.

"Anything else?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto glanced up at him as he picked the card up from the ground.

"Well there is one thing" he glanced at Naruto. "Personal information is entirely redacted. The only time anything is redacted usually involves ANBU black ops missions or other secrets decreed by the Hokage."

Naruto grit his teeth. '_Just what I don't need right now… Everyone is going to be suspicious of me and looking into things they shouldn't be looking into…'_ Naruto narrowed his eyes. "My turn to ask some information then" he said, ignoring the looks he was getting from his teammates as well as the other rookies, Shino included.

"What kind of information do you have on all of the villages?" Naruto asked.

"All kinds. Each of the villages participating in the exams has some kind of treaty with Konohagakure and therefore many of their records are accessible to us and vice-versa. The one exception to that would be Otogakure, which no one really knows of since they are quite a new village."

As Kabuto said this, Naruto felt the three sound shinobi from the day prior begin to move towards them, as if positioning themselves for an attack.

"So, here in the leaf village, does that mean you have the ability to access top secret information?" Naruto asked.

Kabuto now narrowed his eyes. '_I shouldn't have gone as far as I did, he's getting suspicious. Guess the rumors of his intelligence weren't justified.'_

"Well, my father happens to be chief medical officer here in Konohagakure, so I do have access to all types of information."

'_No one else is supposed to know of this… This guy is even more suspicious than that Danzo guy.'_ Suddenly, the sound Genin shot towards the two of them. As Naruto turned, ready to fend off an attack, he noticed that Ino was right in the path of the spiky haired male that was charging them.

Moving with surprising speed, given that he was wearing his weights, he got between Ino and the boy. The sound shinobi was caught off guard by the speed of Naruto and could not react in time to the round house kick delivered to his face by the blonde. As Naruto kicked the boy away, he grabbed Ino in one arm while he used his other arm to intercept the shinobi wrapped in bandages that was about to strike Kabuto.

Dosu, grit his teeth as he narrowly dodged the kunai that was aimed at his throat. He had only intended on displaying his power as warning, but the blonde kid from the other day had interfered with his plan, no thanks to Zaku who had decided to assault the loud blonde girl that was with the Konoha group of rookies.

Naruto glared at Dosu. "I don't appreciate you and your friends attacking shinobi from my village just because you didn't like something one of us said.

Dosu said nothing as he slowly backed away from the group. He looked over at Kin who had stayed back to watch, then to Zaku, who was getting up off the ground, wiping the trail of blood from his mouth.

"My apologies" Dosu simply said. He then turned and stalked back to where his female teammate stood.

Naruto stared after him then looked over to Ino who was staring at him with awe.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y…yeah I am." She replied, completely stunned.

"Sorry about man handling you, just needed to make sure Kabuto wasn't attacked and I wasn't about to just push you out of the way" he said as he withdrew his arm. Ino simply nodded.

"Did you really have to show off?" Sasuke said approaching him.

Naruto chuckled. "I guess it was just a reflex" he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

Sasuke smiled and shook his head. "Well, you were the one that wanted to stay low key like Lee's team tried. Now you've drawn attention to us." Naruto shrugged.

Just then, a large explosion of smoke went off at the front of the room. Everyone whirled around to face what was happening.

"Everyone quiet down!" a large man with a scarred face yelled. He wore a large black trench coat and wore his hitai-ate like a bandana, covering his hair completely. Behind him stood two dozen other men all from Konohagakure.

"YOU THREE AND YOU!" the man barked at the sound ninja and Naruto.

"Anymore fighting and you will be instantly disqualified! Understand?!"

Naruto nodded, while Dosu gave an apology fitting for a brown nose.

The large man grunted. "Now then, time to introduce myself. I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor of the first exam of the Chunin Exams! Now please enter this room and sit where you see your name!" he motioned to a door behind him.

Naruto and the rest of the rookies were the last to enter the room and Naruto found himself in a large classroom. He searched for his name and found it on a row in the middle of the room. He sat down just as Hinata sat down beside him.

"Oh wow, guess I get to sit next to someone I know" he said with a smile.

Hinata simply blushed.

* * *

Ino sat down near the back of the class and was able to see Hinata sit beside the man that had recently held her extremely close. She felt her face warm as she thought of what had happened.

'_I cannot believe I'm feeling this way about Naruto Uzumaki… It's just I've never had a boy hold me… Ever… We were so close.'_ She shook her head. '_Can't think like that… Especially right now, I've got to stay focused on the exams.' _However, he mind continued to replay what had happened. She didn't even realize what was happening at first, but Naruto had just suddenly appeared in front of her out of nowhere, and then the next thing she had known, she was being held in one of Naruto's arms. Then there was his voice, it wasn't something she was used to from the blonde. He had been completely serious, no joy in his voice. He seemed ready to kill if need be. But that did not frighten her, it had excited her.

She shook her head again. '_Dammit Uzumaki… I'm supposed to be focusing on the exams, why did you have to act like prince charming and grab me that way… Damn! Now I'm comparing him to prince charming. What the hell!?' _The Yamanaka ground her teeth in frustration.

* * *

Ibiki made his way to the front of the class.

"As I said, my name is Ibiki Morino. Now before we begin, let me go over a few rules. If you have questions, keep them to yourself, what we say here is law."

From there, the large man went over the rules of the first exam.

The exam would be a written test, Sakura and Sasuke quickly glanced at Naruto but gave it no thought beyond that.

Starting with ten points, for every wrong answer, a point would be deducted. Also, if anyone was caught cheating, they had three shots before being kicked out.

Shikamaru grinned quickly as did Tenten, Dosu, Temari, Kankuro, and a few others from other villages.

If one teammate was disqualified, the entire team was disqualified. This caused a stir amongst the entire room, however there were no outbursts.

The test had 10 questions on it, however the 10th question would not be revealed until 45 minutes had passed. They had those 45 minutes to answer the other 9 questions.

The tests were passed amongst them and the shinobi that had accompanied Ibiki sat in chairs along the walls of the room.

"You may begin" Ibiki announced.

Naruto flipped over the page and began to read the first question when he quickly paled.

'_This question… it's so complex… Shit… I can't answer that… Let's look at the next one… Oh god… The next one maybe? Fuck, maybe this one?! No no no no no… I CAN'T ANSWER ANY OF THESE WHAT THE FUCK!?'_

* * *

Sakura frowned as she looked at her test. '_I can definitely answer all of these, no problem, but that's because I've studied these things in my extra time during the academy… These aren't something most people could answer…'_ She glanced again at Naruto and then Sasuke.

'_Sasuke is a genius so there's no worries there, Naruto however… He has definitely improved but there's no way he would have had the time to look up all of this information in the past.'_ She glanced around the room at the various proctors watching them. '_I can understand that we can't cheat, but why give us more than one chance to cheat? In the academy, getting caught cheating even once would automatically give us a failing grade, yet here it's as if they want us to cheat but not…get…caught! That's it! They want us to cheat!'_ Her eyes widened at the revelation and looked over at Sasuke, and then to Naruto. '_I just hope they both realize it before it's too late!'_

With that said, Sakura began to fill out her test with surprising speed.

* * *

Ten minutes into the exam, a kunai had flown past Naruto's head and struck the desk behind him and nailed a boys test to the table.

"That's three strikes" one of the proctors said with a grin.

"That's bullshit! That was the first time!" he yelled.

Suddenly the boy was thrown back in his chair and the proctor had him pinned there.

"I caught you red handed three times, you and your team are out of here!"

This happened several more times, some tried to fight it, and others just walked away.

'_There's a lot of cheating…'_ Naruto thought to himself. '_That is weird that they give us so many times to cheat before we get thrown out…'_ Naruto began to ponder about this fact.

Ibiki watched them all from the front of the classroom. '_A lot of them have figured it out'_ he thought with a grin.

Finally 45 minutes had passed and it was time for the final question to be revealed.

Naruto grinned.

'_Figured it out… Once they reveal the final question, ill just use my shadow clone to look at someone's test and then disperse it… it's only cheating once technically'_ he thought with a grin.

Ibiki surveyed the room.

"Now before I provide you with the final question, its time to lay down some new rules."

At this point, there was an outcry from many people in the room about rules suddenly changing and it not being fair. Naruto honestly wasn't paying attention to them; he was trying to figure out who to copy when he caught sight of Sakura.

'_She's probably got all the answers right'_ he thought with a grin.

He looked back at Ibiki to realize that he was explaining something important.

"…last chance to leave, because if you get this question wrong, you'll be banned from the Chunin Exams forever."

That hit Naruto full force. '_WHAT?!'_ There were similar cries from the Genin in the room.

Temari stood up at this point, "but there are people who have failed previous Chunin Exams who are still here today!"

Ibiki grinned sadistically. "Well I wasn't there proctor. My exams, my rules."

A few people quit at this point, a few others seemed unsure, but Naruto didn't care about that at this point.

"Screw you and your rules!" he yelled.

Ibiki glared at the blonde.

"We're Shinobi! We go on missions that could mean life or death for us! Who cares if you say we can't become Chunin ever if we fail this! It's just a stupid exam! I'll still be a shinobi! Hell, I'll become the strongest Genin of all time, and then they'll have to make me Hokage!" Naruto declared angrily. He continued to stand there defiantly, staring down the large proctor in front of him. The silence in the room was nearly deafening for everyone at this point.

Ibiki glanced at the other proctors then back to the Genin. "Last chance… Either give up, or take the risk with the tenth question." Nobody moved at this point.

'_Stupid brat… He's given everyone else here courage to go through with this… Guess that it's then.'_

"Well then… To everyone still here, you have all… passed the first exam" Ibiki announced with a smile.

Naruto stood there for a moment before yelling, "What about the last question!?"

Ibiki laughed. "There was no last question. It's like you said yourself, as a shinobi you'll be forced to make life or death decisions, this 'final' question was to see if you could make those types of decisions."

"What about the rest of the test?" Sakura asked out of turn.

"The test was there to see if you could gather the information without getting caught. We planted several people who had the answers to the tests and from there we observed you. As a shinobi, you will be required to gather intel from enemies without getting caught." Ibiki explained.

"This is critical as a shinobi as getting caught has severe consequences." At this point, Ibiki removed his bandana to reveal that his head was severely disfigured from repeated torture.

A shiver ran through the room. "Failure is not an option" Ibiki said with a tone of finality.

He put his bandana back on and looked around the room. '_A lot more participants than I would have expected…'_ Ibiki opened his mouth to say something else when one of the windows seemed to explode. '_She's early…'_ he thought with some annoyance.

Naruto reacted differently to the exploding window and had jumped back a few rows, a kunai in hand.

A figure flew in from the broken window, a banner suddenly revealing itself.

"Listen up brats! It's time for the second exam to begin!" a familiar voice rang out.

Naruto nearly lost it when he saw Anko AKA the crazy bitch that he had run into weeks prior.

'_NO WAY! She's in charge from here?! I'm so fucked!' _he panicked.

Anko frowned as she quickly counted the participants in the room.

"Seventy two?! Ibiki what the hell?!" she turned towards the senior proctor.

"What can I say; we have an interesting batch this year."

Anko smiled sadistically. "Is that so? Well this should be good. Alright! I'm Anko Mitarashi; meet me at training grounds 44 in exactly one hour!" With that said, Anko disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Naruto pursed his lips. '_If she's in charge… then the next exam is going to be insane…'_ Naruto walked over to Sasuke and Sakura who were heading for the door and followed them out.

Once the room was empty, Ibiki began to collect up the tests and took a look at one Naruto Uzumaki's test.

'_It's completely blank… heh… The balls on that kid…'_ Ibiki thought shaking his head with a smile.

* * *

Team seven arrived at training ground 44 to see abnormally large trees behind a chain link fence. '_That place… gives me the creeps.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Once all of the teams had arrived, Anko reappeared before them.

"Alright brats listen up because I will not repeat myself! The second exam is going to held in the forest of death which you can obviously all see before you. Each team will be give one of two scrolls!" at this point, she held up two scrolls for them all to see. One had the kanji for heaven, the other, earth.

"Your mission, is to obtain both scrolls and deliver them to the tower in the middle of the forest without any outside assistance. You will be given a time limit of five days to do so. If any of your team is unable to reach the tower, you will be disqualified. You are also ordered not to open the scrolls before you have reached the tower. This will also mean instant disqualification!"

"What do we do for food though?!" Choji suddenly yelled out.

Anko smiled. "There's plenty for you to eat in the forest, but be careful, because you might be food for something else."

Choji shivered at this thought.

"Now then. There will be an equal amount of heaven and earth scrolls amongst you. This means that you will have to find a team with the opposite scroll you already possess in order to pass. Now since there is a chance that death can occur at this point, we are passing out waivers for you to sign so that we are not responsible for anything that may happen once you enter the forest."

Several Chunin and Jonin were handing the forms out to everyone at this point. When Naruto received his, he quickly signed it without a second thought, Sasuke following his stead. Sakura seemed a little nervous and apprehensive, but ended up signing the form as well.

Before they knew it, an hour had already passed and team seven stood in front of a gate, awaiting a signal to enter the forest. Each team had been placed at a gate surrounding the forest, leaving plenty of space between teams.

"First thing we should do, charge in and find a clearing where we set up camp, then we scout ahead and find someone with an earth scroll" Naruto said as he placed the heaven scroll they had just received in his pack.

Sasuke nodded.

"I'll also use my Kage Bunshin to take a look at some of the other teams as well, make an assessment on whether or not we should avoid them."

"Sounds like a good plan" Sakura said. Naruto nodded.

"Alright… Let's haul ass when we can."

The buzzer went off and the gate opened. Team seven sped through and took to the trees.

As they jumped from branch to branch, Naruto made the cross seal for his Kage Bunshin. Suddenly twenty three clones appeared and jumped off into different directions.

'_One for every team out there…'_ Naruto thought to himself. They quickly found a clearing and stopped for the moment.

"Sakura, you should start setting up traps while we wait for my clones to report back to us. Meanwhile, Sasuke and I will figure out just from what we saw earlier, which team we should go for as well."

Sakura nodded, but before she could, Naruto glanced up to the trees and made a sign with his hands that Kakashi had taught them for situations where they were being watched.

Sasuke frowned when he recognized what Naruto signed to them. '_That was fast… So someone is already watching us.'_

"I gotta go to the bathroom, hold up before you get started Sakura" Naruto said as he walked towards some foliage.

Naruto fingered the handle of a kunai. '_He's following me… Guess that means he wants to take me out first.'_ Just as he reached what he thought would be an appropriate distance, he pretended to begin undoing his pants. That's when whoever was following them decided to attack Naruto. He reacted quickly by jumping out of the way of the assailant. He heard the voice of the attacker swear as a fireball rocketed towards him.

Naruto spun around and flew through the seals for the same jutsu.

The boy barely dodged the two fireballs when a hail of shuriken came from above.

'_Sakura's got him!'_ Naruto thought happily. The boy dived out of the way, but it wasn't enough as two of the throwing stars embedded themselves in his calf.

"DAMMIT!" the boy yelled as he collapsed to the ground.

Sasuke suddenly had him pinned to the ground as Naruto approached him and Sakura appeared next to him.

"So you're with Amegakure?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes.

"My friends are going to come looking for me the boy said through the breather on his face.

"With how easily we took you out, it won't be hard to do the same to your teammates… So what kind of scroll do you have on you?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have it on me… My teammates do" the boy said.

"Then why do we need you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto suddenly felt one of his clones disperse not more than a mile out.

"We gotta make this quick, someone's coming and they're stronger than this guy" Naruto said quickly.

Naruto squatted beside the boy and pulled his pack off of him and quickly emptied it. A few kunai and exploding tags and a sealing scroll. Naruto quickly took the tags and the kunai and began to inspect the scroll when he suddenly sensed a flare of chakra, nearby.

'_How did they sneak up on us?!'_ Naruto thought in panic. He made a cross seal just as he noticed the trees up ahead shaking. '_A wind jutsu!'_

His two clones grabbed Sakura and Sasuke and jumped out of the way as Naruto ran through seals for his own wind jutsu, however he was too late and the enemy's jutsu hit him full force and everything went black.

* * *

The two clones that avoided the blast quickly dispersed as the original Naruto was carried away by the blast.

Sasuke had landed painfully, but he was unharmed otherwise. '_What the hell just happened?'_ he wondered.

He stood up as Sakura walked over to him. "How are you?" Sasuke asked her.

"I'm fine… Where'd Naruto go?" She asked.

"I'm right here" Naruto's voice rang out. They turned to see Naruto trot up to them.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and charged Naruto.

"Sasuke what the hell?!" Naruto yelled out as he dodged Sasuke's punch, one however clipped him and Naruto flew back. "What's your problem Sasuke?!"

Sasuke withdrew a kunai at this point. "Naruto's kunai holster is on his left leg, not his right… Who the hell are you?" Sasuke spat out. Sakura's eyes widened as she withdrew her own kunai.

The fake Naruto smiled maliciously. "Well well, Sasuke Uchiha. You aren't an amateur." The henge suddenly dispersed and there stood a grass ninja with long dark hair.

'_Is that a girl?'_ Sasuke wondered.

"Come Sasuke Uchiha… Show me if you are worthy of your name" the woman said as killer intent hit Sasuke and Sakura full force.

* * *

Naruto came to just in time to see a giant snake snatch up the unconscious Amegakure Genin in its jaws and swallow.

'_Holy shit!' _ Naruto shot up to his feet and jumped up to a branch above the snake, just as it turned to look at him.

"Well… That guys dead…" Naruto said regretfully. The snake lunged at him and Naruto jumped to another branch in a different tree.

"So how the fuck do I fight this thing?" Naruto wondered as the snake lunged again, forcing the Genin to drop to the ground and run.

The snake came back around at surprising speeds. Naruto rolled to the side avoiding the snapping jaws of the large reptile.

Jumping up into a tree, he saw a small puddle on the ground. Focusing his chakra, the water shot to his hand and began to spiral.

"**Suiton: Hahonryū**" Naruto yelled as he unleashed the jutsu on the snake.

The snake took it full force and continued charging. "Well that didn't work" as Naruto back pedaled.

Jumping over the snake, Naruto ran through hand seals and jumped even higher.

"**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**" Naruto released a large fireball which left the snake completely unscathed.

The snake shot up at him and Naruto summoned forth a clone to throw him to the side. The clone was quickly consumed and a shiver ran up Naruto's spine when the memory of being eaten hit him.

Naruto landed and the ground beneath him cracked a bit.

Then, an idea hit Naruto. '_Just need to get high enough.'_

Naruto formed the cross seal and twelve clones came into existence.

The clones surrounded the snake and began throwing kunai at it to keep it distracted.

The snake was getting irritated by the twelve blondes throwing knives at it. It had been summoned to kill the blonde and it was proving to be more trouble than it was worth, however he did not want to get on a Sannins bad side.

Then suddenly, it felt something go through the top of its head and ripped out the bottom of its mouth.

It shuddered for a moment before falling over head.

Naruto had killed the snake. He had climbed to a branch high above the snake before increasing his weights and letting gravity take hold. However, when he had gone through the snake's head, a tooth and ripped through his left hand, leaving it bloody and mangled, and using the hand to help cushion his fall had not helped. He glanced at it and grimaced. '_Well… at least the fox will heal it quickly enough.'_

He staggered to his feet and gasped in pain. His hand hurt more than he had thought.

Looking back at the dead snake, Naruto felt a pang of guilt for the boy it had eaten. If he had tossed the boy out of the way when the blast hit, he wouldn't have been killed…

'_But that blast of wind… Someone wanted us separated… That snake… Maybe it was a summon. Like Oji-sans monkeys.'_

He looked to the direction where the blast had originated and took off that way. '_I just hope I'm wrong.'_

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura sat on a large tree branch, both shivering after the close encounter with the strange shinobi. They had been attacked by multiple snakes thus far and the shinobi had disappeared again. Sasuke had killed one snake just to have the shinobi emerge from its carcass.

'_This thing is way above our own capabilities. Even with Naruto here, I don't think we'd survive.'_

Suddenly the shinobi was upon them, Sakura jumped on direction while Sasuke another. The shinobi ignored the pink haired Genin and went straight for Sasuke when suddenly, a torrent of water hit the shinobi and knocked him into a branch.

Sasuke looked towards the origin of the blast to find Naruto, blood dripping from one hand, and water swirling in the other.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"Oversized reptile" Naruto answered. "I take it this is the guy that probably summoned it?"

Sasuke looked over at the shinobi. "Probably."

"Well well… Naruto. You survived the snake I sent after you, I didn't think you would."

Naruto glared at the grass ninja. "What the hell do you want?"

The ninja smiled. "Sasuke Uchiha… I need to see if he is anything like his brother."

Anger seemed to well up inside the young Uchiha at the mention of his older brother. Constantly being compared to him since he was younger, and even now, after he had betrayed the village.

Naruto noticed Sasuke's face and frowned. "Sasuke, stay in control… He's just trying to get a rise."

"Kukukuku. You think so? Well, if Sasuke cannot prove himself, then I shall just have to kill your teammate!" At this, the ninja took off at speeds that made Lee look like a snail and went for Sakura. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. '_No! NOO!'_ Naruto yelled mentally. He started running but it was like his legs couldn't keep up with his mind. He saw everything perfectly, the shinobi grabbing Sakura by the throat and holding her up, Sasuke charging the shinobi with a kunai but being swatted away easily, and then turning back to Sakura, ready to snap her neck.

Then suddenly, he felt a sensation he had felt once before. His vision felt blurry for a moment when things suddenly came into focus. He felt his hand healing rapidly, his felt his canines suddenly enlarge, his nails sharpening and growing.

His emotions heightened for a moment, but one emotion dwarfed the rest. Rage.

Naruto shot forward, his weights completely inconsequential.

In an instant, faster than the other shinobi, he severed the arm holding Sakura. The shinobi didn't react in pain, but rather in amusement. In one swift motion, he kicked the shinobi away and wrenched the severed hand off of Sakura's neck.

She collapsed to the ground and looked up to find Naruto surrounded by a red cloak of chakra, and crimson eyes, slits for pupils.

Suddenly Naruto turned in time to receive a punch that threw him off the branch they were on and crash straight through a tree.

The shinobi was back, one arm missing. Smiling down at the blonde Genin, he realized something. '_This is the legacy of the Yondaime Hokage… The Jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Kitsune. This should make for an interesting fight.'_

Sasuke looked down at what had just transpired in awe.

'_Where did Naruto get this power from? Why does it fill me with… dread?'_

Suddenly they all heard Naruto roar and an explosion, red chakra illuminating the forest for a brief moment.

The shinobi smiled then suddenly, her jaw unhinged and made a gurgling noise. Then, two hands emerged, prying the jaw open further and then a head and torso emerged, completely a different person. This person had pale skin, yellow eyes and long dark hair.

In a male voice, the new figure said, "Come then, show me how you measure up."

He shot out, leaving the old body like a snake would shed its skin. Dust flew up everywhere as the man struck where Naruto had been just a moment ago.

Wheeling around, the man spotted a large fireball heading towards him.

'_So the Uchiha decides to join in… He knows he's out matched, and yet still he fights.'_

The man sped to his left, dodging the attack completely when Naruto was suddenly upon him, fighting like a wild animal.

"Kukuku, not even using any type of Taijutsu. Just fighting like an animal."

The man seemed to be playing with the boy when the Jinchuriki suddenly jumped in the air without warning. The snake mans eyes followed him when he suddenly realized it was a diversion. He looked down just as Sasuke Uchiha's foot connected with his face.

He rocketed backwards as Sasuke ran through more seals.

"**Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu**" Fire surrounded Sasuke for a moment before shooting out lines of fire towards the powerful man.

Just as Naruto landed in front of the inferno, the flames seemed to explode outward. Sasuke was thrown backwards by the force of explosion. Naruto was resisted the shockwave, but was suddenly wrenched into the air by what appeared to be an elongated tongue.

"Let me go fucker!" Naruto yelled.

The tongue reached down lifted up his shirt, revealing his stomach as well as the seal that was placed there, holding the Kyubi at bay.

The man approached Naruto, the fingertips on his right hand glowing purple.

"An interesting seal… So this is what Minato Namikaze used to seal the Biju inside this boy."

Naruto's eyes widened as he mentioned his father.

"**Gogyō Fūin**"

The man struck Naruto's abdomen, causing Naruto to scream out in pain. Then, he was out cold. The man flung him aside, his body hitting the ground hard.

He then turned to Sasuke who was slowly standing up. The man smiled. He made a strange hand seal and suddenly his neck elongated and he shot towards Sasuke and suddenly bit down on Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke was next to scream a loud as pain racked his body suddenly. The man let go of Sasuke and his neck retracted.

"What did you do!?" Sakura's voice called out suddenly as Sasuke collapsed to the ground, his screaming slowly becoming a whimper before he was completely silent.

"I have given him a gift… That is if he survives. IF he does, and he still seeks power, tell him to seek me out. My name is Orochimaru." With that said, Orochimaru sunk into the ground as if it were liquid.

Sakura jumped down to the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"S…Sasuke-kun?" she squeaked out, staring at the unconscious Uchiha.

"Naruto! Sasuke's hurt! I need your help!" She looked back at Naruto to see him on the ground as well. The tears began to come down even more.

'_What am I supposed to do? The two stronger members of our team are unconscious and I'm in the middle of a forest full of people that are after us…'_

* * *

Dosu, Kin and Zaku watched for an ambush.

'_That blonde kid just disappeared… He was taking us all on with ease and then poof, he's gone…'_ Dosu thought, eyes darting back and forth.

"Dosu! It's been ten minutes and we haven't heard a thing… Let's just go hunt down the Uchiha already!" Zaku yelled.

Dosu nodded. "I think you're right… But keep an eye out while we search for him… I don't want us getting ambushed by the Uzumaki boy again.

* * *

Kiba, Shino and Hinata sat in some bushes, shivering in fear.

Before them, lay a field full of blood. Not moments earlier, the sand trio had been confronted by some grass Ninja when the forest seemed to tremble for a moment. Akamaru had sensed a terrible chakra off in the distance, and it seemed so had Gaara because the next thing anyone knew, sand tendrils had torn the grass shinobi apart limb by limb.

Even the two teammates of Gaara were surprised by the brutality of it all. Then Gaara had fallen to the ground clutching his head, screaming about something called Shukaku and there being another in the forest like it.

When Gaara had finally ceased screaming, the malevolent chakra in the distance had disappeared. They sand shinobi eventually left, trailing behind an unemotional Gaara.

Kiba and company soon left the safety of the shrubbery and approached the remains of Gaara's victims.

Kiba felt his stomach churn at the sight of what was left.

"I can't believe he did that… How could he?" Kiba wondered, his voice wavering.

Hinata had tears silently streaming down her face.

"The boy is clearly unbalanced" Shino stated. "We have out two scrolls, I suggest we make haste and get to the tower before it gets dark out here."

Kiba nodded and looked down at the dog tucked in his jacket. Akamaru was still shivering.

"Is he going to be okay?" Hinata asked, wiping away her tears.

"He is now… But it's strange. At first Akamaru was scared of the sand kid, but then that chakra we felt… That scared him more… That means there's something even worse than Gaara in these exams."

Shino adjusted his glasses. "That could most definitely pose a problem to us if we run into the source of that chakra."

Hinata nodded. "I'll keep an eye out while we travel. We should definitely be more cautious now."

* * *

Ino sat on a log beside Choji, who was doing his best despite his hunger.

She thought back again to how Naruto had moved earlier.

'_He was never that fast at the academy… A lot has happened since then. I mean, I don't think I've changed that much, let alone anyone else from the academy… It's like once we graduated, he hit the ground running…'_

She thought back to what Sakura had also said about how Naruto was the first to make a kill.

'_I wonder if it'll happen again during these exams. He looked like he might have killed that sound kid if he tried anything.'_

"Hey Ino, stop thinking about Naruto" Shikamaru's voice rang out.

"You shut up Shikamaru!" Ino snapped. "I'm just wondering why he's changed so much!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Who cares? So he's gotten stronger, so have we."  
Choji looked between the two. "I dunno guys… Naruto's gotten a lot stronger. Remember he couldn't even spar properly back at the academy and now he's fast than any of us."

Ino stood up. "Exactly! He used to be the weakest person and now he's almost as good as Sasuke-kun!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Why is this even such a big deal Ino?"

"I just want to know why is all" Ino said, crossing her arms. "I mean, something must have happened to kick Naruto's ass into gear."

Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment. '_Well I do remember that when we graduated, Naruto initially failed, then the next day Mizuki was gone and no one has seen him since and then I see Naruto wearing a Hitai-ate, meaning that they did pass him… Those two things must be connected. Beyond that, it's simply speculation but I have this feeling that those two things are connected.'_

"Come on, let's go find a heaven scroll so we don't get knocked out of the exams" Shikamaru said, changing the subject.

* * *

Sakura had finally set up camp underneath a tree. The large tree was raised from the ground, creating a slight cave effect that protected team seven from any eyes from overhead.

Naruto and Sasuke were laying on the ground side by side, a wet cloth on both of their foreheads, their packs to the side. Sakura had to take off Naruto's jacket as the flames from the fight with Orochimaru had torn it apart. Sakura was fairly certain Naruto was going to be upset about the loss of the jacket.

Both of them were burning up from whatever Orochimaru had done to the two of them. Sasuke's neck had two puncture wounds from where Orochimaru had bit him, and three tomes slightly resembling the Sharingan had appeared on his neck, like a black tattoo.

Sakura had checked Naruto, but found no marks on his body that she was willing to explore.

What worried her most, was that they were both burning up. She wasn't sure how long they could last against their fevers and she didn't know any medical ninjutsu to help them along.

She glanced around, checking the traps that she had set up once she had gotten the two to cover.

'_Looks alright… I just hope it'll keep others away until these two wake up.'_ She thought worriedly. She looked to the sky and saw that the sun was slowly setting.

"Please Sasuke… Please Naruto… Just please wake up…" Sakura whispered to herself, tears rolling down his eyes.

She fingered a kunai in her hands, unsure of what needed to be done, desperately wishing that she was stronger.

* * *

_**Well there it is. It took me multiple tries to get this chapter written out. The Chunin Exams are difficult to write out without recycling other fanfictions. It can be a terrible chore to do so to anyone that has written this part out without it getting dull, I applaud you. I tried and even now I feel its okay at best. But I promise that chapters will get better from here!**_

_**It's good to finally be back and writing and I promise to do more of it to those that enjoy this. Been about two years, but it doesn't feel that long for myself. So thank you and please do not forget to review.**_

_**Zukara**_


	8. The Forest and The Tower

_**Alright I'm back with another chapter already!? Its true folks. So enjoy the story progression and do not worry, while last chapter was sticking kinda close to Canon, this one will go a different route with it.**_

_**So enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

_**The Forest and The Tower**_

* * *

Kakashi stood outside the forest of death beside the Hokage, the moon shining over the two of them.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, for not sending anyone out after Naruto" he said softly.

The old man sucked on his tobacco pipe for a moment before answering.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask me not to search for him" he said, exhaling a large cloud of smoke.

Kakashi did not react to this. "You are Hokage for a reason. You have always made the right choices."

"Not always" the Hokage sighed, thinking of his one time student.

Kakashi glanced at him. "Why do you think he has returned?"

The Sandaime shrugged. "At this point, I cannot assume to know what that boy is thinking anymore… He has spiraled further than I had ever thought possible of him."

"Makes you wish the Yondaime was still here" Kakashi sighed.

The Sandaime chuckled. "Minato is still with us. He lives on through Naruto."

Kakashi smiled. "He is a lot like both him and Kushina."

Suddenly, an ANBU appeared, carrying Anko.

"Hokage-sama, I found her like this. She found Orochimaru, but he escaped" the ANBU informed them. Anko knelt on the ground, clutching at her neck.

The Hokage knelt beside her and spotted the curse mark on her neck.

"Hokage-sama… Orochimaru, he… he marked the Uchiha… with the curse mark." Anko gasped out in pain.

Kakashi's eye widened as did the Hokage's 'Orochimaru_ is after Sasuke?!'_ Kakashi thought in terror.

The Hokage stood up straight, exuding the power he once had in his prime.

"Gather the rest of the ANBU!"

"No wait!" Anko screamed out. "He… he told me that we can't interfere… Otherwise he'll begin killing people… He means to destroy Konohagakure if we cancel the Chunin Exams or interfere in any way."

The Hokage felt like swearing at this point. One of Konohagakure's most powerful rogue ninja was in the area, and the Hokage could not do anything for fear of unnecessary casualties.

"Very well… We will simply have to prepare for the worst and watch closely. Keep tabs on him if you can locate him" ordered the Hokage. The ANBU nodded before disappearing into the night.

The Hokage then turned to Kakashi. "First Naruto, now Sasuke… You will definitely have your hands full with this team. Come, we need to get to the tower, and then Anko and I must show you a seal to suppress Sasuke's curse mark."

Kakashi nodded. '_I must have the most complicated team out there.'_

* * *

Gaara's head was throbbing. It had not felt this way since he had killed Yashamaru so many years ago.

The whispering of the Ichibi felt more like hollering at this point. All Gaara could make out amongst the ranting of Shukaku was "it's here!"

Gaara clutched his head again and sand swirled around him. He looked up to recognize that he was in a room located inside the tower. His team had easily gotten to the tower with little trouble, although they were not the first.

Some other team that had witnessed his earlier rampage was also there. He did not care for the lower beings and had not bothered with them.

Gaara turned to look out the window and stared at the moon hovering in the sky.

"Naruto Uzumaki… Was it you? You triggered something the other day. Was that you in the forest? Are you the one I must kill?" Gaara wondered to himself.

As he spoke, the Sand from his gourd flowed out behind him and molded itself into the blonde Genin's image.

"What are you?" Gaara wondered as the sand Naruto fell apart.

* * *

Sakura sat beside her two unconscious teammates. Neither had stirred since the sun, only the sound of the leaves shifting gave Sakura any company.

She continually glanced at the two of them, to see if their chests were still rising with their breath. If she couldn't see the rise, she would quickly rush to their side and check on them.

When not doing that she stared out at the darkness that surrounded them for any sign of movement.

She felt a lump in her throat suddenly her eyes began to water again. She shook her head.

'_No… No more crying… I need to protect them, just like they've always protected me.'_

* * *

Out in the darkness, the sound trio sat and watched team seven.

"So Uchiha and Uzumaki are out for the count" Zaku grinned.

"We should just attack now" Kin suggested.

Dosu shook his head. "No… We shall wait until dawn. I do not want any surprises. We can barely see as it is."

Zaku frowned. "Why the fuck are you in charge?" he asked.

Dosu ignored the jab. "Let us just keep watch, search for any traps that could be sprung."

* * *

Morning quickly came for Ino and the rest of her team. They had not been successful in finding a scroll that they needed but they weren't doing to badly in her opinion. Why? They still had their scroll.

"Come on wake up you lazy good for nothings!" Ino yelled, kicking at her teammate's feet.

Shikamaru groaned as awoke from his restless sleep.

"Morning already?" he groaned as he sat up.

Choji said nothing as he stood up and stared at an empty bag of chips in his hand.

"Let's go find some weak team to beat up and take their scroll!" Ino announced. Shikamaru groaned. "I think we're the weakest team here Ino."

Choji said nothing as he gave the chip bag a weak shake.

Suddenly they heard an explosion not far off. Choji quickly turned his head in that direction.

"That's just what we need!" Ino exclaimed. "Let some strong teams fight it out, then take out the winners when they're weak!"

Before Shikamaru could protest, Ino had taken off towards the explosion.

"Come on Choji… If we don't go with her, she might get herself killed…"

Choji nodded as he threw the bag to the ground, a determined look on his face.

* * *

Sakura screamed as Rock Lee was knocked across the field by Dosu.

'_That lotus technique… If Zaku hadn't intervened, I'd be screwed.'_

Lee struggled to his feet. "It's amazing that you would go to these lengths for some pink haired girl" Zaku yelled at Lee.

Lee struck his Taijutsu pose. "I… I promised… I would protect her with my life…"

Sakura's eyes watered. She had been cornered by the sound trio who were asking for Sasuke to fight. She had tried fighting them off but all it had ended with was an impromptu haircut.

That's when Lee had intervened and began fighting them.

Now here was Lee, bloody and beaten, barely on his own feet.

Then suddenly, Zaku couldn't move. He was screaming his head off, then the girl, Kin, began to act odd.

Then suddenly, what looked like a boulder charged towards Dosu. Dosu barely managed to dodge it when it suddenly changed direction, heading after Dosu again.

Sakura ran out at this point and grabbed Lee.

"Come on, this way…" she whispered. Lee put his arm around her and she helped him back to where Sasuke and Naruto were.

She looked back to see that Shikamaru and Choji stood in front of Dosu and Zaku, seemingly negotiating.

Kin had drawn a kunai and held it to her own neck. Sakura suddenly realized what was going on.

'_Ino took her over and is holding her hostage!'_ She thought with admiration.

Then it took a turn for the worst. Zaku turned his hand towards Kin and let loose his sound based jutsu, knocking Kin back into a tree.

"Ino!" Choji and Shikamaru yelled. "Just let go quickly!" Shikamaru followed up.

Suddenly, Kin went limp and lay still.

Zaku and Dosu then charged after Shikamaru and Choji.

Suddenly, things happened in a flash. Zaku was suddenly on the ground across the field, and Dosu had been flung into the air.

Naruto and Sasuke stood back to back, evil chakra swirling around the Uchiha.

"Sakura… Did they do this to you?" Sasuke asked his Sharingan flashing.

She slowly nodded.

"You get the one with attitude… I get the one in bandages" Naruto said, his eyes flashing malevolently.

Ino slowly came out of the shrubbery to see the two male members of team seven standing in the center of the field.

"There they are…" she said to herself.

Suddenly, the two disappeared.

Zaku had no time to react as Sasuke appeared next to him and back handed him away.

Zaku was stunned at how strong the blow was as he flew through the air. He quickly recovered and landed smoothly, his arms extended before him, palms facing the Uchiha.

"**Zankūkyokuha!"**

Suddenly, the air was alight with his technique, tearing the ground apart.

Zaku grinned as his technique died out, leaving nothing left.

"Didn't stand a chance" Zaku grinned.

"You missed" a voice said behind him.

He quickly turned around only to be forced back to the ground by Sasuke, his arms held behind him.

Just as this happened Dosu crashed into the ground next to them. Sasuke glanced at him. "You weren't a match for the two of us" Sasuke grinned.

Naruto appeared in front of the two of them, panting excessively.

"Sasuke… That's enough…"

Sasuke looked back at Zaku. "I bet if I pulled hard enough, your arms would be ripped right off."

"Sasuke stop it" Naruto said louder.

Sasuke slowly began to pull as Zaku cried out in pain.

"Sasuke stop!" Naruto yelled.

Zaku's screaming increased, causing Sakura and Ino to flinch at the brutality of it all.

Then suddenly, Sasuke was blasted off of his feet by a torrent of water.

Naruto's hand had water spiraling in it.

"ENOUGH!" Naruto yelled. Shikamaru, check on the dumbass Sasuke nearly killed."

Shikamaru nodded and walked over to Zaku and knelt beside him.

Naruto and Sasuke locked eyes and stared each other down.

"He's unconscious. One of his arms is dislocated I think…" Shikamaru said, standing back up.

Naruto made no indication that he heard for a moment.

"You... Dosu or whatever your name is… Take him out of here before I change my mind." Naruto growled.

Dosu nodded as he picked himself off the ground and slowly limped towards Zaku.

"Don't forget the rest of the trash" Sasuke said.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Blue eyes stared into Red.

"Take our scroll… You have defeated us…"

"Just fucking leave" Naruto yelled. Dosu didn't say anything else, but placed a heaven scroll on the ground before picking up his two teammates and leaving.

"What the hell happened to you?" Naruto asked Sasuke. He noticed the black markings that covered half of his face.

"I don't know…" A flash of the man's face that had bit him flashed before his eyes.

"I…it was Orochimaru…" Naruto turned to Sakura who said this.

He then glanced at the others nearby.

"We can talk later when we're alone…" Naruto said. "You two can come out now."

Suddenly Neji and Tenten were beside Rock Lee.

"Are you okay?" Tenten asked. Rock Lee nodded meekly.

Suddenly she hit him upside the head. "Don't worry us like that again!" she yelled.

Neji said nothing but glared at Sasuke.

'_That chakra… it's absolutely putrid…'_ he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes. Sasuke ignored him and continued to stare at Naruto.

"You should take him away" Naruto suggested. "We have some things we need to work out."

Neji simply nodded and turned to his teammates. "Come now… We need to obtain an earth scroll soon."

With that said, Lee and Tenten said their goodbyes before taking off into the trees.

Suddenly, the marks on Sasuke's face receded and Sasuke's face took on a pain expression before he collapsed to the ground.

He was suddenly sweating profusely and panting.

'_Whatever that was… It took an enormous toll on him.'_ Naruto observed.

He then turned to Shikamaru, Ino and Choji.

"Thank you guys… for helping us out…"

Shikamaru sighed. "It was a serious headache, but we couldn't let you guys just get killed."

Choji nodded. "They were jerks anyways!"

"Here, I'm going to help even Sakura's hair so it looks better." Ino said.

Naruto nodded as she walked past him.

He glanced over at Shikamaru and Choji. "Could you give me and Sasuke a minute?" he asked.

The two of them nodded and walked away, leaving the Uchiha and the Uzumaki alone.

"What was that just now?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke didn't say anything for a moment. "What did that Orochimaru guy do to you?"

Sasuke grit his teeth. "He bit me."

Naruto stared at him for a moment. "….what?"

Sasuke frowned as he turned his head, revealing two puncture marks next to what looked like a tattoo.

"Holy shit" Naruto exclaimed as he knelt beside Sasuke to look closely at the marks. "What kind of person bites someone?!"

"A freak…" Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah… I'll say." Naruto sighed. "I don't know much about them, but that looks like some kind of fuinjutsu."

Sasuke locked eyes with Naruto. "What do you mean?"

Naruto stood up and thought for a moment. "Fuinjutsu isn't just used for sealing things away… It can be used for different jutsu and summoning. Maybe this one provides you with some weird steroid or something. It would explain how crazy you were, and how strong as well. Plus that weird chakra as well."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Speaking of weird chakra Naruto… What the hell was that when you fought that Orochimaru guy?"

Naruto bit his lip. '_I was worried about this coming up…'_

"It's uh… I can't really tell you Sasuke…" he answered.

"Why the hell not?" Sasuke pushed.

Naruto clenched his fist. "It's really complicated… The Hokage ordered that others couldn't know about it…"

"So the Hokage knows about it?" Sasuke asked, slowly getting to his feet.

Naruto nodded. "A few others know about it as well… Iruka knew about it."

Sasuke grit his teeth. "Then tell me about it!" he yelled.

Naruto looked down at the ground, shamefully.

"I'll ask the Hokage… But I can't promise anything." Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded. "I guess that's all you can do right now…"

Naruto shrugged. "Sorry Sasuke… I wish I could tell you."

The truth was of course, that Naruto had dreaded this moment for a while. Since he had found out about the fox, he had been worried about others his age finding out about it. He had a chance to finally make friends; he finally knew why so many people hated him.

But he was certain he could change the village's opinion about him and the fox. He wanted to prove he was good for the village, not a curse.

But this was too soon. He hadn't done enough. He hadn't proved himself.

"Is it a seal like mine?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Naruto laughed at this. "No it isn't. If only it was that."

'_So it's worse than what I have?' _Sasuke thought.

* * *

Ino sat behind Sakura, using a Kunai to fix the girls pink hair.

"…and that's what's happened." Sakura said in a low voice, recounting the events leading up to now.

"Holy shit… So the mystery deepens… But that name… Orochimaru. I've heard that name before." Ino whispered.

Sakura watched the four boys in the distance.

"Then of course there's that red chakra that Naruto used" Sakura reminded Ino.

Ino nodded. "Yeah… Something weird is definitely happening with him as well. I mean he was a show off back in the academy and if he'd had that power before, he'd have shown it to everyone just for attention" she whispered.

"When we out of this forest, I can ask my dad about it" Ino suggested. "If anyone were to know anything, he'd definitely know."

Sakura smiled. "That's right. He of all people would know what that red chakra is."

Ino finally finished Sakura's hair when Naruto's voice rang out. "Where the hell is my jacket?!"

Sakura shivered. '_Fuck… I forgot about that…'_

* * *

_**Two days later**_

Naruto sat on the ground, cross legged and eyes closed. The sun was rising and they only had a day left before the exams were over and they had yet to find an earth scroll. They had given Team ten the extra heaven scroll they had received from Dosu since they had no need for it.

Ino took it with enthusiasm which Sakura was irritated about and still grumbled over it.

Every night since Sasuke and Naruto had woken up; they had taken turns to keep watch at night to ensure no one ambushed them.

As Naruto meditated, he sifted through his clones memories from when he sent them into the forest at the beginning of the exam.

It seems that whatever Orochimaru had done to him, had destroyed his clones.

Speaking of what the man did to him, he could not exactly recall how the fight had ended. He remembered how he had felt when the Kyubi's chakra flowed through him, but after that it had become spotty. At times, he seemed to remember the fight with perfect clarity, while the rest of the time, it was like sifting through mud.

Returning back to his clones memories he recalled a great deal of information. A few teams had decided to team up and headed straight for the tower. He recalled them talking about staying out there for a few days, to pick off some of the competition and thin the ranks.

A clever plan that Naruto had wished he'd thought of.

He recalled some grass shinobi with a missing team member.

At one point he had even run into the proctor Anko, who had not bothered even looking at him.

Lions, giant bugs, snakes, toads. The forest was filled with so much. Then he recalled running into Kabuto's team but his clone was quickly killed off by a surprise attack. He didn't know who it was though.

Naruto frowned. He didn't like Kabuto, even if he was nice enough to provide the rookies with much needed information.

Naruto shook his head as it began to ache from the flow of so much information.

He looked over at the river they had camped next to and frowned. The other day, he had tried to walk out on the river and had quickly fallen in. Whatever had happened to him had screwed up his chakra control.

It was worse than it had been when he first graduated the academy.

'_At least I can still make Bunshin…'_ he thought glumly.

He heard movement behind him and sprung to his feet, kunai in hand.

"Relax it's just me" Sasuke yawned.

Naruto sighed. "Sorry… Just jumpy since… you know."

Sasuke nodded. "Nothing happened I take it?" Naruto shook his head. "All quiet out there."

"How is your sensory ability?" Sasuke asked.

"Still shot… I don't know what Orochimaru did, but the only thing I can really rely on is my Taijutsu. My chakra control is shot."

Sasuke nodded and looked around. "You find your weights at all?"

Naruto shook his head. He had sent out clones looking for the weights he usually wore, but he had lost them during the fight with Orochimaru.

"Really pissing me off… My clones have looked everywhere."

"Too bad" Sasuke muttered.

"We should head towards the tower… It's getting to the end there and there has to be at least one team that has an earth scroll."

Sasuke nodded. "As soon as Sakura is up, let's get headed over there."

"Just wake her up now… We need to move now so we have time to spare."

A few hours later, they were in sight of the tower. They had forgone tree jumping at this point to ensure they were not ambushed.

'_This would be a lot easier if I could sense them…'_ Naruto thought with annoyance.

None of them spoke, trying to keep as silent as possible to listen for any movement.

Suddenly, they heard a twig snap. Naruto signaled for them to stop. He pressed his back against a tree and waited as whatever made the noise came closer to his position. His fist tightened as he prepared to attack.

"Whoever is there, I can hear you…"

'_What the fuck? How?! Even ANBU have a hard time tracking me'_ Naruto thought. He didn't move and simply waited.

"Whoever you are I mean you no harm" the voice came again. Suddenly, Kabuto came into view; however he was walking past Naruto. He hadn't taken notice of him and was heading for Sasuke's position.

'_So it wasn't me he found…'_ Naruto grinned. He hadn't liked the silver haired Genin when they met them.

Moving silently, Naruto stalked after him. "Please, just come out and I promise not to…" Kabuto's sentence was cut short as wrapped on arm around Kabuto's throat and dragged him back.

"Shut the fuck up or I will kill you" Naruto hissed in Kabuto's ear.

Sasuke looked around the corner from where he hid and sighed in relief.

He turned back and signaled for Sakura to come out of hiding.

"What scroll do you have?" Naruto asked immediately.

Kabuto smiled as he gasped for air. "Honestly, I have both heaven and earth scrolls."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke.

"I'll check the perimeter" Sasuke stated without Naruto even needing to ask.

"Thanks" Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke leapt into the trees and took off to scout the area.

"So while he's off, where's the rest of your team?"

Kabuto continued to gasp for air, so Naruto lessened the pressure.

Kabuto coughed lightly.

"I was to meet them at the tower when I acquired my scrolls."

Naruto glanced at Sakura. "So you're telling me that you got these scrolls on your own?"

"Yes" Kabuto replied. A clone of Naruto pooped into existence next to the two of them.

"Search him" the original Naruto ordered. The clone began rifling through Kabuto's pack and pulled out the two scrolls. The clone then took his kunai holster and any remaining shuriken in the pack.

Naruto eyed them for a moment. "Sakura, you should go check on Sasuke…" Naruto said slowly, thinking of what he was to do next.

"Are you sure Naruto?" Sakura asked, eyeing him and Kabuto.

"I'm sure… Don't worry. I'm not about to kill him Sakura, you don't need to worry about that." Naruto smiled at her.

"I wasn't thinking that you were going to." Sakura defended.

"It's fine Sakura. Just go check on him" Naruto said softly, meeting her eyes.

She smiled lightly and walked past the two of them.

Naruto waited until she was out of earshot.

"Where the fuck did you get those files on me?" Naruto asked.

Kabuto was surprised by the question. "It's like I said, my father is chief medical officer and…"

"Don't give me that shit! There's no way my file could be accessed by someone that low on the totem pole! You know don't you…" Naruto growled.

Kabuto stayed silent for a moment.

"Why else would you mention my file…? You wanted to warn me not to cross you or something… May have backfired on you though."

Kabuto smiled slyly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Uzumaki." He replied.

The Naruto clone by then had made a campfire and tossed the spare heaven scroll in the fire.

"Well, I guess I should just send a clone to the Hokage and ask him about it."

Then it was like a flash, Kabuto had withdrawn a hidden kunai and stabbed Naruto.

Naruto's grip lessened, allowing Kabuto to break free. Blood splattered the ground and Naruto grit his teeth.

'_Damn… That was stupid of me… Should have made sure all of his weapons were accounted for.'_

Kabuto looked at Naruto for a moment as he shifted his position, ready to attack with his kunai.

Naruto withdrew his hand from the wound he had received. His hand had been dyed red from his wound.

'_I hope it'll heal quickly…'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"That was a mistake" Naruto spat. "If you come at me like that again, I may have to kill you…"

Kabuto narrowed his eyes. '_Orochimaru-sama wants this team to get through, but the boy backed me into a corner… To think this Jinchuriki could back me into a corner like this.'_

"If you let me go, you may keep the earth scroll. We can go our separate ways and pretend like this didn't happen" Kabuto said as he took a step back.

Naruto chuckled. "You stab me and expect us to let bygones be bygones… Too bad fucker…"

In a swift movement, he withdrew a kunai and threw it at Kabuto. Kabuto deflected it with ease and spun around to block a strike from Naruto's clone.

The original Naruto caught the earth scroll that his clone had tossed to him.

He withdrew another Kunai and slapped an explosive tag on it. '_It's stupid, but I can't take this guy on alone…'_ he threw it into the air to signal his teammates.

'_I just hope that they get here first.'_ Naruto thought as he pocketed the earth scroll.

He ran through hand seals as quickly as he could, wincing in pain.

"**Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu**" Naruto's fireball was significantly weaker than it had been before.

'_Dammit… Can't even use my jutsu right'_ Naruto thought angrily as Kabuto easily jumped over the blast.

'_He's much weaker…'_ Kabuto realized.

Naruto flinched as his wound throbbed.

He charged forward, employing his Goken Taijutsu as best as he could. Kabuto easily outmaneuvered Naruto, dodging every strike Naruto used. That's when Naruto began to improvise. As Kabuto took a step back, Naruto ran jumped forward and lashed out with a kick. It was a reckless move that left Naruto open, but it succeeded in landing. Kabuto staggered back. '_This guy… Even in his weakened state he managed to hit me.'_

Naruto followed up with a handful of shuriken, which Kabuto ducked under.

Then as Kabuto charged at Naruto, a kunai flew at him from his left. He deflected it, but failed to notice the explosive tag tied to it. The explosion threw Kabuto into a tree, cracking the boy's glasses slightly.

'_So the rest of his team is here…'_ Kabuto thought in annoyance.

A fireball burned through the foliage and headed for Kabuto.

It seemed to hit him full force but when the jutsu ended, all that was left was a log.

Sasuke appeared next to Naruto, Sharingan activated.

"You alright?" he asked as he spotted the blood dripping off of his teammate.

"I'll live" Naruto coughed out.

"I think he got away" Sakura said as she appeared next to them. "I tried chasing after him but he was really fast.

Naruto nodded. "Well… we still have the earth scroll, let's get going to the tower so we can be out of this forest. Do we have any rags left? I need to get this taken care of…" Naruto grunted as he lifted his shirt to show a stab wound right below his ribs.

"Oh my god what happened?" Sakura asked, quickly running to him and inspecting the wound.

"Just was stupid. Thought I had gotten all of Kabuto's weapons, but I was pretty wrong." Naruto winced as she quickly poured water on the wound from a flask they had.

"Well next time you take a hostage, please try to be more careful" Sakura said softly. Naruto stared at her for a moment. "I'm sorry Sakura… I've kind of been a dick a lot lately…"

Sakura looked up at Naruto in surprise. "I…it's fine Naruto… I haven't been the best person either."

She pulled out strips of cloth from her pack. "Take off your shirt."

Naruto nodded and quickly stripped off the black shirt.

As she began to wrap the cloth around the wound, she saw something on Naruto's stomach.

"Naruto?" she asked. "What are you doing?"

"Just trying to mold chakra… It's still really difficult to do."

"Then what's this?" she pointed at his stomach. He looked down to see something he had been dreading. It was the seal that held the Kyubi at bay. '_Dammit… I forgot that it appears when I use chakra…'_ But then he noticed something different. There was a new part to the seal now, on top of his original seal.

'_This… this is what Orochimaru must have done to me!'_ He realized. '_Maybe because it's on top of the seal for the nine tails, it's fucking up my chakra control. I gotta find someone that can take it off!'_

"I think it's what's messing with my chakra control… It would explain a lot." Naruto stated.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "So Orochimaru put that on you?" he asked.

"I think so" Naruto lied.

"Looks pretty complicated. How'd he put that on you so quickly?" Sasuke asked.

"No idea. But he was extremely powerful from what I can tell. He was toying with us that entire battle. He definitely isn't a Genin." Naruto said. Although they had all realized that long ago.

"Once we get back to the village, I need to ask Kakashi-sensei about getting the seal off. I can't get far this way…" Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded. "We should get going then."

Naruto nodded as Sakura finished wrapping his wound.

He put his shirt back on and turned to see the tower in the distance. "We have to be careful… Who knows how many people saw those explosions from earlier."

It wasn't long until the sun had set, but by then they had reached the tower's base. They had been careful to avoid other teams, with Naruto sending what few Kage Bunshin he could muster to scout ahead and use as distractions.

As they entered the tower, Naruto was feeling the effects of how much blood he had lost.

'_That seal Orochimaru used is keeping the nine tails from healing me… This could end badly'_ Naruto thought as Sasuke had to help him through the tower's entrance.

As they entered a room, they found it to be completely empty save for a plaque on a wall.

Naruto collapsed on the ground as Sakura read what was on the wall.

Naruto wasn't listening until Sasuke shook him lightly.

"We need the scrolls" he said.

Naruto groaned as he reached into his pouch and withdrew them, handing them to Sasuke.

Naruto watched as they opened the scrolls to find them beginning to smoke.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he tossed them away just as suddenly, Iruka was summoned from the scrolls.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto stared at the scarred Chunin.

Iruka smiled at them. "You three look like you went through hell to get here."

Naruto began to chuckle, then it evolved into full blown laughter. "You have no idea" Naruto laughed.

* * *

Orochimaru was very unhappy at the moment. He had been waiting for Kabuto and his team to enter the tower, however there was no sign of them. So he decided to force open the door of the tower to find Kabuto's teammates waiting.

When Orochimaru learned that Kabuto had gone after team seven and had not returned, he had lost his temper quickly. The two boys of Kabuto's unit lay on the ground before him, dead.

Orochimaru was getting more impatient with every minute that passed when he caught a scent on the wind. He smiled as his right hand man came into view.

"There you are Kabuto" Orochimaru said grinning maliciously.

Kabuto frowned when he saw his two teammates on the ground.

"That wasn't part of the plan" he said.

"Neither was you failing this exam" Orochimaru said angrily.

Kabuto sighed. "You can thank Naruto Uzumaki for that."

Orochimaru stood straight at the name. "The Jinchuriki? How was he a match for you? I interfered with his seal; he should have been much weaker than you, even without my tampering."

"He caught me by surprise. He's very stealthy and before I could react, he had me in a choke hold. He convinced his team to not trust me."

Orochimaru took a step towards his underling.

"Did you not get the information I require?" he sounded threatening at this point. The boy was useful, but he was not so forgiving with failure.

Kabuto smiled. "Don't worry Orochimaru. I encountered Dosu before him and his team entered the tower. It seems that Sasuke has adapted well to the curse seal of heaven. In fact, he was stronger than either of us estimated. He was able to use some Ninjutsu without the seal being triggered."

Orochimaru nodded stoically as Kabuto pulled out a ninja info card and handed it to him.

"All of it's recorded there. I know we want him being subjected to the seal more, but this could turn out to be a good thing. If he's stronger, than the seal will have a stronger reaction."

Orochimaru smiled at Kabuto's observation. "You are still very useful. I shall go for now, and we will meet again in the village." With that said, Orochimaru turned and walked into the tower.

Kabuto watched him as he walked into the tower.

'_Naruto Uzumaki… I will make you pay'_ Kabuto thought angrily.

* * *

As Iruka finished his explanation of the exams and the Chunin motto, he quickly escorted them through a chamber. "You still have some time to rest. A few hours until the sun comes up and the second exam is over. Naruto, you seem to need some medical attention so just go down this hallway to the infirmary and they'll take care of you." Naruto nodded silently and headed down the hallway, not caring about anything else for the moment.

When he entered the infirmary, a nurse with long black hair spotted the situation he was in and rushed to his side.

"What happened?" she asked quickly, her green eyes meeting his blue eyes.

"Stabbed… Earlier today." Naruto grunted. '_She's cute' _he thought randomly through the pain.

"Come lay down" the nurse said quickly. Naruto nodded and followed her to a medical bed. As he lay down, she ran through a few hand seals and then her hands began to glow green over his wound. Naruto grimaced for a moment when relief seemed to wash over him.

"I can speed up the process a bit, but I can't completely heal it."

Naruto nodded. "That's fine. I'm sure you'll need to conserve your chakra for worse wounds."

The nurse said nothing as she slowly worked.

"Seems your suffering from slight chakra exhaustion as well" she pointed out.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah… been a long day."

"Well, just rest for a while" the nurse said.

Naruto smiled for a moment. "You're a foreigner aren't you?" It was more of a statement that a question.

"Yes. I come from a small village within the fire country. But, how did you know?"

'_You don't know about the Kyubi… I can tell just by how you treat me.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"I just have a knack for that kind of thing" he said.

The nurse smiled at him. "So is this your first exam?" she asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Hopefully it will be the only one."

The nurse chuckled. "I'm not surprised you think that with this wound."

"I've had much worse" Naruto said, thinking back to wave, and even the fight with the snake. "So how long have you been in Konohagakure?" he asked.

"Just over a year now. It's a huge place" she said as she finished healing Naruto.

He sat up, grunting slightly. The pain was still there, but it wasn't as bad as it had been.

"So other than this what do you do?" Naruto asked.

"You have an awfully large amount of questions" the nurse teased.

Naruto blushed. "Just making conversation is all…"

She laughed. "It's fine. I'm an intern at the hospital."

Naruto nodded. "I guess you might see more of me in the future then."

Naruto hopped off the bed.

"Here, give me a second and I can give you a new shirt. That one is soaked in blood and torn apart."

Naruto blushed yet again. Here was a cute young nurse helping him out more than she had to.

"You don't have to…" Naruto mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

The nurse waived him off, "It's no problem, just give me a second." She then walked into another room and returned with a white shirt for him.

"Go ahead and change and ill get rid of that shirt for you." She said.

Naruto said nothing as he accepted the clean white shirt from her. He took his own shirt off, avoiding eye contact with the nurse and then put the new one on. It was a bit of a tight fit but it wasn't terrible.

"There, that wasn't so bad now was it" the nurse smiled at Naruto.

"No… I guess I should go then…" Naruto said, still blushing.

"Wait, before you go, what was your name?" The nurse asked.

"Oh… It's Naruto Uzumaki. What's your name?" he asked.

"Kagome" she said with a soft smile. "I'll be rooting for you during the exams" she said, winking. Once again, Naruto felt his face heat up. '_I think this is my first crush since Sakura…'_ he realized as he awkwardly waived and walked away.

Kagome watched as he left the infirmary and giggled. '_Naruto Uzumaki eh? He's a cutie.'_ She thought to herself as she disposed of the damaged black shirt.

* * *

A few hours passed, and everyone that had passed were lined up before the Hokage and the various Jonin that led the teams in attendance. Among them were also, Ibiki, Anko, and another shinobi that looked like he may fall over dead at any given moment from illness.

"Congratulations on those that passed the second exams." The Hokage began.

From there, Naruto and the others listened to him drone on about why the Chunin exams had various villages participating. Something about it being war or avoiding war, honestly, Naruto wasn't listening. No his attention was on a Genin among them. Gaara was staring him down and had not looked away once. In fact, Naruto was fairly certain that he had not blinked.

Naruto's jaw tightened. '_He doesn't have a scratch on him while everyone else here does.'_

Everyone had dealt with one thing or another in the forest of death and showed some kind of mark or even smudge of dirt from it all, but not Gaara.

Naruto returned his attention to the Hokage.

"…third exams will be held in front of an audience to showcase the various villages strength to different lords and such, therefore increasing the chances of the participating villages requests for missions. However… there are too many of you to advance to the third exam, which is why right now, we are going to have a preliminary round to determine who will advance."

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but if I may." The sickly man interrupted.

The Hokage nodded.

"Hello everyone my name is Hayate and I will be the proctor for the preliminaries. Now before we get started, if there is anyone who does not feel up to the task of fighting, you have a chance to withdraw, so please say so now."

Naruto gulped. '_Shit… I'm still really weakened… I hope I'm paired with someone either weak or injured…' _Nobody raised their hands at this point.

He looked down the line of participants. There was Lee and his team, which Naruto definitely did not want to end up fighting. Gaara's team of course, which Naruto had a bad feeling about. Shikamaru's team, that he could deal with he was sure. The sound team, they would be a cake walk as all of them had been thoroughly trounced by Sasuke and him. Kiba's team he was uneasy about. Sasuke was one he may be able to take on as he wasn't looking to good either. Sakura seemed uninjured enough, but honestly… Sakura a threat?

"Everyone if you will please go up to the balcony, we will begin shortly. The screen behind me, will show the match ups, one by one." Hayate stated.

The various teams walked up the stairs to the balcony overlooking the large room.

The Jonin's of each team joined with them as well.

The Hokage, Anko and Ibiki all stayed down near Hayate, behind them a statue of two hands making a hand seal.

Hayate gave out a slight cough. "Well then, we shall begin."

On one of the walls, a giant screen began cycling through names.

Naruto gripped the rails tightly as he watched for his name.

Then the names stopped.

Zaku Abumi Vs Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. '_This should be interesting…'_ he thought to himself.

Sasuke smirked. '_This guy again?'_

Zaku also smirked. His arm was currently in a sling, thanks to what had happened with the Uchiha a few days prior.

They both walked down to the lower level and walked towards Hayate, their eyes never leaving each other.

"GO SASUKE-KUN!" Ino's voice rang out.

Naruto smirked. '_Nearly everyone here knows that Sasuke will win, even if he is tired out.'_

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered. Naruto looked over at his pink haired teammate.

"It'll be fine Sakura, Sasuke will win" he said with absolute confidence.

"It's not that… What if he losses control again?" she asked.

This caught Kakashi's attention who was directly behind them.

Naruto frowned. He had not thought about it since it happened, and it was Zaku that he had nearly maimed. "I'm sure they'll step in if it goes too far."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. '_I was still hoping that he didn't have the curse mark, but that was foolish of me. This just confirms it.'_

Hayate looked between the two of them. "Remember, if need be I will step in and call the match."

Neither of the Genin made any indication that they had heard the proctor.

"Begin" Hayate said as he leapt away.

Zaku charged the Uchiha who jumped back to avoid a strike from Zaku's good arm.

"I feel bad fighting a cripple" Sasuke said smirking.

Zaku only howled in anger as he threw a kunai at the raven haired Genin.

Sasuke easily side stepped the knife. "Come on." He goaded.

Zaku pointed his palm at Sasuke.

"**Zankūha!"**

A blast of supersonic air raced towards Sasuke who took off running to the side to avoid the blast.

Sasuke jumped into the air, weaving hand seals quickly.

"**Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"**

A volley of fireballs raced after Zaku. Zaku repeated his jutsu which blasted Sasuke's technique away. Sasuke smirked as he activated his Sharingan, when suddenly; it felt as if he was being stabbed in the neck, where the curse mark lay.

Sasuke screamed out in agony as he fell to his knees.

Zaku grinned.

"THERE!" He removed his injured arm from his sling and pointed both arms towards Sasuke.

"You dodged this technique once, but not this time! "**Zankūkyokuha!"**

Light seemed to flash as Zaku's powerful technique was unleashed.

Sakura and Naruto watched in horror as it seemed that their teammate was consumed by the technique.

The light died down to show a large gash in the ground where Zaku's technique had hit.

No Sasuke in sight.

Zaku began to laugh triumphantly. "I beat him! Take that you trash!"

"Why do you think you've won?"

Zaku turned around to find Sasuke smiling at him, marks across his face.

Kakashi noted the curse mark on his body. '_Dammit… We're going to need to step in'_ remembering a conversation with the Hokage that if he used the seal that he would need to disqualify Sasuke.

Zaku swiped at Sasuke who seemed to disappear.

Sasuke had jumped into the air and was smiling like a maniac when he realized what was happening.

'_The mark! Dammit! Not this again.'_ He glanced over at Naruto. '_You wouldn't use this power… Neither will I. I can win without it!'_ Suddenly, he felt the power recede.

Smiling, he activated his Sharingan once more.

He landed in front of Zaku and charged him.

Zaku struck out at him with his injured arm. '_Wrong move'_ Sasuke thought as he lunged forward and twisted in the air, flying below Zaku's strike. Using speed that surprised himself, he delivered a palm strike to Zaku's elbow, bending his arm the wrong way and effectively breaking it.

Zaku cried out in pain and took a step back.

Sasuke whirled around, using his hands on the ground to steady himself, and delivered two kicks to Zaku's chest.

Suddenly, Zaku was gasping for breath, making an odd noise.

'_Oh shit!'_ Sasuke thought panic freezing him in place. He had kicked Zaku hard enough to rupture one of his lungs.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha" Hayate's voice rang out suddenly.

A team of medic ninja ran out with a gurney and quickly loaded Zaku onto it, who was clutching at his chest.

Sasuke stood there dumbfounded. He had not meant to hurt the boy so badly.

Suddenly he was being guided away from the room by someone familiar. He quickly realized it was Kakashi-sensei.

"I…I didn't mean to do that..." Sasuke mumbled.

"It's fine Sasuke. I know it was an accident. You just underestimated your strength. With that curse mark messing with your body, it's not surprising."

Sasuke grit his teeth. "I think I just killed him."

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't think so. The medic's didn't seem too worried when they loaded him up. I'm sure he'll live. Now we're just going to take care of that seal so that it doesn't continue interfering with you."

* * *

"Well at least he didn't lose control" Naruto comforted Sakura.

"It nearly took over" she said, biting her lip.

"But he fought it back. That's a good thing." Naruto replied. Hayate walked to the center of the arena.

"Now for the next match!" he announced. The large screen came to life again and started cycling through names again.

"Please not Lee's team… please not lee's team" Naruto began chanting to himself in a low voice, causing Sakura to give him a strange look.

He glanced at her. "Still pretty messed up from earlier" he answered.

The screen suddenly stopped.

Kiba Inuzuka VS Rock Lee.

Naruto grinned. "Oh this will be fun. Let's watch Kiba get put in his place."

Kiba's Jonin glanced over at the blonde Genin. '_Kind of a brat that Uzumaki kid…'_ she thought to herself.

Naruto noticed her looking at him. "Oh sorry… It's just Lee is really strong… Like freakishly strong. Gai-sensei has taught him a lot."

Kurenai was surprised that Naruto had caught her glance.

"I see" was her reply. Naruto frowned. '_She's kind of snooty that lady…'_

He looked back to the arena to see Lee was already down there waiting.

Kiba walked past Naruto, glaring at him for what he had said earlier.

Naruto smiled. "Kiba, a word of advice, don't stand in place for long, Lee will take advantage of it." Kiba stopped in his tracks, surprised that Naruto was offering advice.

"What? Figured you're at enough of a disadvantage going against Rock Lee, figured I'd help you out."

Kiba glared at him. "Shut Uzumaki! It's not like a dunce like you could help anyone."

Naruto grinned. "Well okay then, just figured I'd try to help you out but it's your funeral."

He turned away from the Inuzuka, which seemed to just infuriate the boy more. Grumbling to himself, he walked down to the arena to meet with his opponent.

Hayate looked between the two of them. "Begin!"

Rock Lee struck his Goken pose.

"I wish you luck Kiba-san!" Lee announced.

Kiba stared at the weirdo in front of him. '_…Ok what the hell? This guys a freak...'_

"Come on Akamaru, let's beat this guy quick so that we can kick Naruto's ass next!"

'_Wow… Seems like I hit a nerve by ignoring him'_ Naruto thought with a grin.

Akamaru barked out from Kiba's jacket before leaping down to the ground. Kiba quickly flicked a pill to the dog. Akamaru snapped it out of the air, and quickly, his hair stood on end and turned red.

"Whoa, what the hell?" Naruto said aloud. He was not aware of this technique.

"So he's using soldier pills on Akamaru" Sakura observed.

Naruto had heard of soldier pills before, but couldn't remember much about them. He briefly imagined that his hair would turn red if he took one. '_That'd be a good look for me I think…_

**Shikyaku no Jutsu" **Kiba was suddenly on all fours, chakra radiating from his body slightly.

Lee smiled. "Let us begin."

Kiba shot forward with surprising speed.

Naruto's eyes widened. '_I had no idea he was this fast.'_

Lee also seemed surprised as he was hit by Kiba's fist. Lee staggered back before lashing out with a kick. Kiba dodged the kick and seemed to disappear before reappearing behind Lee.

Lee flipped over Kiba who had lunged at the Genin.

Lee tried to kick him while flipping over him but hadn't estimated Kiba's speed to be on par with his own.

Lee landed and took of running as well.

It was like watching to blurs run around each other, occasionally striking out.

Lee slid to a halt as he withdrew a kunai and began to fend off blows from Kiba.

'_I guess Kiba grew claws or something'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Kiba is strong" Sakura observed. Plenty of the rookie nine seemed surprised by Kiba's speed and ferocity.

Then Kiba seemed to stop and landed next to Akamaru.

"Not bad, even though you look weird you're pretty strong" Kiba said with a smirk.

Lee stowed his kunai. "I would have to say the same about you as well Kiba-san. You are nearly as fast as Naruto-kun. It has been a while since I have had to try this hard."

Naruto frowned. '_Did he have to mention my name?'_

Kiba glanced at the blonde. "Naruto? You mean that Naruto?" Kiba motioned towards the Uzumaki.

"Yes" Lee confirmed.

"Well he must have busted his ass training since we graduated because he used to be a weakling!" Lee frowned at the jab to his friend.

"Well then, let's make this a little more fun" Kiba said as he glanced at his dog.

"Akamaru!"

The dog barked as he leapt onto Kiba's back.

"**Jūjin Bunshin" **Suddenly, there were two Kiba's in front of Lee.

"Wait is that fair?!" Naruto yelled out.

"You are encouraged to use everything at your disposal" Hayate answered from across the room.

Naruto frowned. '_Lee… You may have to remove your weights… But will Gai-sensei allow you?'_ He looked over at Lee's sensei.

The two Kiba's sprang into action and bore down on Lee.

Suddenly, Lee was performing maneuvers Naruto had not seen him use before.

'_I should watch closely… This is good…'_

He would dodge one Kiba and use that one's body as a spring board to jump over the next one, or he would move behind one to use as a temporary shield, always keeping one of them in sight at all times.

However, Lee was at a disadvantage as he was only able to block at the moment, and was unable to strike back.

Kiba and Akamaru gave him a brief break and jumped back.

"Damn… You are something else…" Kiba growled. "Let's use that technique Akamaru!" The dog barked in agreement.

They leapt forward and suddenly began to spin.

"**Gatsūga!**"

Lee had no time to react as two cyclones seemed to hit him full force.

The two cyclones stopped and the two Kiba's reappeared.

"Where'd he go?!" Kiba growled.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee's voice rang out. Lee was located on top of the statue of the hand seal.

"Permission to remove the weights?" he inquired.

Gai-sensei gave him a thumbs up. "Show him what youth is all about!"

Lee smiled as he sat down for a moment and pulled down his leg warmers.

Kiba smirked. "Like some taking off some weights will work."

"YOSH!" Lee stood up, proudly displaying his weights to them all.

Then, he dropped them.

Naruto smirked, knowing full well what was about to happen.

Everyone's jaws dropped when two explosions appeared as the weights impacted the ground.

Kiba took a step back. "What the hell!?"

Suddenly Lee was behind him. "Now, let us begin again!" Kiba didn't know what to do as Lee disappeared again and dust blew up around him.

'_What the hell is going on!? Wait… it's him! It's his speed!'_ Kiba realized.

"Now do you see? This is my real speed" Rock Lee's voice rang out. Kiba spun around just as Lee's foot appeared. Kiba flew through the air and impacted against the wall and everything went black for him.

"Winner, Rock Lee!" Hayate announced.

Rock Lee cheered as Akamaru turned back into a dog and ran to his master.

"Poor Kiba, he didn't stand a chance" Naruto grinned.

"I had no idea Lee was that strong!" Sakura said in shock.

"It's like I told Sasuke, I would lose if I had to go against Lee" Naruto said smirking.

"Could anyone here fight him and win?" Sakura wondered.

"Normally I'd say no, but there are some interesting characters… That and Lee has one huge disadvantage."

Sakura turned to Naruto. "What disadvantage?"

"Don't tell anyone else, but… Lee cannot use ninjutsu or Genjutsu…" Naruto whispered.

"Why doesn't he?" Sakura asked. Naruto shrugged. "He just can't, it's not a matter of will."

"Now for the next match!" Hayate's voice announced.

* * *

Sasuke lay on the ground unconscious, Kakashi stood over him, and Orochimaru stood across from Kakashi.

"Sealing away the curse mark is futile Kakashi-san" Orochimaru stated, a smile on his face.

Kakashi cursed his luck. '_So he's come for him already.'_

Kakashi ran through three hand seals, and suddenly his hand was alight with chakra and lightning.

Orochimaru laughed. "Oh please, as if it would be a fair fight."

Suddenly, Orochimaru's pupils contracted and a wave of fear washed over Kakashi.

'_So this… is Orochimaru's strength… I really don't stand a chance.'_

Without meaning to, Kakashi's jutsu faded away.

"Why are you after him?!" Kakashi questioned the Sannin.

"It's simply really and you possess it as well… The Sharingan!"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"Keep him safe, train him for what is to come, and in time, he will seek me out for power." Orochimaru grinned as he suddenly melted into the darkness, leaving Kakashi alone with the unconscious Uchiha.

'_Damn…'_ was Kakashi's only thought.

* * *

The screen stopped and Naruto looked to see who was fighting next. He saw the two names on the board and his head whipped around to his teammate. She looked nervous which was to be expected, but he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach, and it got worse when he looked at the board again.

Gaara VS Sakura.

* * *

_**So there it is folks. A lot of people complained that I was simply sticking with Canon and I can see how you thought that with the last chapter, but I wrote that simply as a bridge to get to this point. I'm sure you're surprised with my selection and honestly I was when I thought of it, but hey, why not throw a curve ball into the mix.**_

_**So as I promised, I'm updating more frequently, although this doesn't mean you'll get a couple chapters every week, it'll be when I can do it.**_

_**After all, I've got a job, a wife and other things that I need to take care of. **_

_**So please, leave a review, as it does help, whether it's critiquing it, or praising it or flaming me. **_


	9. Obsessions

**_Hello readers Here is Chapter 9 of the story. Now I know there have been some complaints about how Kiba shouldn't have been able to give Lee a proper fight, but that will be explained. His team has had some "encounters" of their own that have caused them to pick up their training. So Hinata and Shino are also stronger. Not godly of course, but they are much stronger than in Canon._**

**_Anyways, I'm sorry for everyone that says this is too close to Canon, but I never said that this would or would not follow Canon. It is my version of Naruto. I am sorry and if you don't like how the story has flowed then I understand. There are plenty of other fics that you can read that have nothing to do with Canon._**

**_But personally, I like a fanfic that while it is different, has followed the same story line such as Chunin exams and such until later on in the fic. Plenty of great ones I might add. _**

**_So with all that said enjoy the newest chapter and please remember to leave a review. _**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._**

* * *

**_Chapter 9_**

**_Obsessions_**

* * *

"Where is she!?" Naruto screamed as he fought past a pair of Chunin guarding the medic wing.

"Stand back boy!" One of them yelled as they struggled to restrain him.

"WHERE IS SHE!?" He screamed widely.

"Naruto calm down!" Ino yelled in tears behind him.

Suddenly, Naruto was pinned to the ground by his sensei.

"Naruto… stop." He said solemnly.

Naruto pursed his lips, tears silently falling down his face. "She…she wouldn't forfeit… even after we begged her not to."

"It's going to be okay guys… She's going to live." Kakashi assured them.

Naruto's eyes met his sensei's. "It seems your intervention saved her life." He said to the Uzumaki. "Gaara froze when you jumped into the arena. He was on the verge of finishing the job."

Naruto nodded silently as Kakashi helped him off the ground.

He looked to Ino and Rock Lee who was behind her. "The two of you should go back to the arena; I need to talk to Naruto alone."

Rock Lee was surprisingly reverent and nodded to the Jonin. Ino hesitated though. "Can I see her?"

Kakashi shook his head. "She's with the healers right now. They need to reset her bones and perform a few blood transfusions, and then she needs to rest. I'll let Asuma know when she can see visitors though."

Ino nodded. "Thank you" she said and walked away, tears still streaming down her face.

Naruto looked at Kakashi who glanced to the two Chunin who seemed to be giving the Jinchuriki glares.

"Follow me Naruto" Kakashi said as he walked away from the infirmary.

Naruto followed silently, replaying the match in his head.

Shino had informed the two of them what he had witnessed in the forest, prompting Naruto to beg Sakura not to go down to face Gaara.

Sakura had quickly dismissed him, saying that Naruto and Sasuke hadn't given up against Zabuza and Haku and that she was not going to give up now.

The match had been started and Sakura had gotten nowhere fast. Any attack she had thrown at Gaara was instantly blocked by a wall of sand that seemed completely independent of Gaara's will. Then, Gaara had gone on the offensive and decimated Sakura in an instant. He had thrown her like a rag doll across the arena before quickly encasing her in a tomb of sand which proceeded to crush her.

Her screams had prompted Naruto to jump into the arena, yelling for Gaara to stop. Gaara had quickly released the girl, staring Naruto down.

When Naruto saw Sakura's unconscious body, he was sure she was dead as blood was everywhere, and he saw bits of bone protruding from her limbs. That's when the medics had rushed forward. Naruto had seen nothing but red at the point and charged at Gaara, however Rock Lee had held him back.

Gaara did nothing but stare at Naruto with unsympathetic eyes.

"Naruto" Kakashi's voice came, snapping Naruto out of his memories.

"Are you going to be okay?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto thought for a moment. He wasn't sure if he was going to be okay.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Kakashi frowned. "I'll get to the point then… Sasuke filled me in on what happened in the forest and that he saw a seal on you. I know you didn't tell him the full truth about it, but from his description, it sounds like Orochimaru tampered with the seal…"  
Naruto nodded as he lifted up his white shirt and molded some chakra.

The seal quickly appeared and Kakashi inspected it.

"Whatever he did, it's really messing with everything… My chakra control is shot to hell, my healing ability is gone, and I can't sense anything anymore…"

Kakashi nodded. "What about the Kyubi?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nothing… Normally when I get emotional I can feel it… But ever since then, nothing."

Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well unfortunately, Orochimaru used some kind of seal on you that I am unfamiliar with. However, I'm sure that after the exams, the Hokage would be able to look at it for you."

Naruto nodded, staring at the other wall.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kakashi asked again.

Naruto nodded. "I'll be fine, as long as Sakura will be okay."

Kakashi nodded. '_It's good to know that he cares for her as a teammate finally.'_

"You know Naruto, your father would be proud of how you've progressed without him or your mother."

This caught Naruto off guard. "You know?" he asked suddenly.

Kakashi chuckled. "Yes. I mean, I was Minato's student."

Naruto's jaw slackened. His sensei was taught by his father?!

"I wasn't sure when to bring it up, but there's never been an opportune time, so I figured right now would be as good as any."

Naruto was at a loss for words at the revelation.

Kakashi leaned against the wall next to him.

"You knew my mother as well?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded smiling. "She was an amazing kunoichi from the Uzumaki clan. She and Minato went to the academy back in the day and eventually they fell for each other."

Naruto smiled. '_I don't know anything about my mother… it's nice to hear about her.'_

For the next half hour, Kakashi and Naruto sat talking about his parents, learning information about the two before Minato had become Hokage.

Suddenly Kakashi stopped and looked down the hall. "We need to get you back… They've already finished a few matches."

Naruto jumped to his feet, having completely forgotten that the Chunin Exams were still going.

As Kakashi and Naruto walked back, he saw that the screen was making another selection.

They walked up to the balcony and stopped next to Asuma's team.

"Who's won so far?" Kakashi asked.

Choji answered. "That sound girl lost to Neji, Dosu lost to Hinata, and Shino beat Tenten."

Naruto looked across to see that Tenten was standing beside Neji and Lee, looking very let down, but otherwise uninjured.

Naruto looked up at the screen just as it stopped on two names.

Naruto Uzumaki Vs Kankuro.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. '_So I'm fighting Gaara's teammate.'_ Naruto grinned. He was going to do his best to make sure this guy was injured.

Naruto was about to jump down when someone grabbed his wrist. He turned to see Ino.

"Please… Don't end up like Sakura…" Ino said softly. "I can't bear to see more of us get hurt cause of these sand freaks."

Naruto nodded. "I know we don't get along, but its fine… Sakura just got unlucky is all. I can handle this guy… For Sakura." Ino let go of his wrist and Naruto jumped down into the arena. Landing, he felt his wound flare up a bit. '_I can still do this… Even with that and the seal… I'll put this guy down.'_ He stood up tall and approached the proctor Hayate in the middle of the room. Kankuro took his time walking down the stairs. As he did, Naruto watched him carefully. '_What's the thing on his back?'_ he wondered.

Kankuro finally made it down, leaving Naruto staring intently at the boy.

Up on the balcony, Gaara leaned forward in anticipation. '_Whatever you are… You interest me and the Ichibi greatly.'_

Kakashi had stowed his make out paradise book in favor of watching his student fight.

Gai-sensei and Lee were cheering Naruto's name while Neji remained stoic and Tenten smiled at her two enthusiastic teammates. Hinata was silently cheering on the blonde Genin while Shino seemed to stare intently at the two in the arena.

"This should be interesting to see" Shikamaru said, leaning on the railing. "Let's see how strong Naruto's become."

"I'll bet he's super strong now" Choji said.

"Well he is injured right now and doesn't have much chakra left, but I'm sure he's going to give us a show" Kakashi said, a smile unnoticed behind his mask.

Ino pursed her lips. "But this guy is on Gaara's team… Aren't you guys worried that Naruto might get killed?"

Kakashi glanced at the blonde girl. "To be honest, Sakura didn't progress much from graduating to now. Naruto however, has poured all of his free time into becoming a better shinobi, and I will be surprised if he doesn't at least make it to the end of these exams."

Ino glanced down at Naruto. '_We've all been training and we certainly have gotten better… But not to the point where we could take on these psychopaths…'_

"Begin!" Hayate declared.

The two stood there facing each other.

"What's your problem?" Kankuro asked, matching Naruto's glare.

"Your friend is my problem… That girl he nearly killed was my teammate." Naruto growled.

Kankuro sighed. "She should have just given up when you told her to… it's not our fault."

"Shut it asshole… I can't do anything against your teammate, but you're the next best thing."

Kankuro smiled. "I doubt you'll be able to land a hit. I can tell you're injured, so you won't be fighting at full strength."

"I don't need to fight you at my best… I can still kick your ass, no matter what kind of jutsu you have."

Kankuro was about to reply when Naruto disappeared in a display of speed.

"What the hell?" Kankuro growled as suddenly dirt flew up around him.

'_It's just like that Lee kid… This guy must be pretty strong then.'_ Kankuro couldn't react as Naruto appeared in front of him and sent him flying with a left hook.

Kankuro landed on the ground painfully.

"Fucking brat…" Kankuro mumbled as he propped himself up. Naruto stood where Kankuro had just been.

"I'll wait for you to get on your feet before I kick your ass!" Naruto yelled.

Kankuro grit his teeth. '_This kid is cocky… but with good reason it seems…'_ He stood up, taking the object on his back.

"May as well just use the crow…" Kankuro said with narrowed eyes.

The wrappings fell to the ground, revealing Kankuro's puppet.

"A shinobi that still plays with dolls? And people say I'm immature" Naruto sneered.

Kankuro did not rise to the taunt. He had heard the insult plenty of times, but usually after he demonstrated what the crow could do, most people wouldn't insult him again.

* * *

Up on the balcony, the rookies stared in at the battle between Naruto and Kankuro.

"How did he improve this much?" Ino asked in shock.

"It's like I said earlier, all of Naruto's free time is spent bettering himself as a shinobi. He's constantly training with Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. He's even bettering his mind when he's not training. Then there's the training I put the team through as well on top of that."

Kakashi smiled proudly. "I have to say that with his determination he could easily become stronger than Sasuke given some time."

Shikamaru and Choji simply watched the Uzumaki, knowing that he would have improved with what they had seen from time to time.

"…Wow… He's definitely better than the rest of us." Ino mumbled. '_I need to pick up my game if Naruto's improved so much and we haven't.'_

* * *

Temari was impressed with the blonde that was fighting her brother. They had planned on holding back somewhat for later on in the exams, but this boy had forced Kankuro to reveal the crow puppet so quickly. Plus, Gaara had mentioned the boy a few times in an odd display of intrigue.

Something about the boy had apparently silenced the Shukaku a few times, or driven it mad… Well, a different kind of mad.

"What do you think Gaara?" Temari asked.

Gaara's eyes were glued to Naruto Uzumaki. "Kankuro may not survive this…" Gaara said.

"What?" Temari exclaimed.

"If this Naruto is strong enough to interest me, then what chance does that fool have."

Temari bit her lip. '_Come on Kankuro… Win this…'_

* * *

Naruto jumped back as the puppet flew at him with surprising speed.

"I take it this is your favorite doll?" Naruto asked as he flipped over a strike with ease.

Kankuro said nothing as he manipulated the chakra strings of his puppet.

Naruto blocked a strike from the puppets arm when Kankuro grinned.

Naruto's eyes widened as the puppets arm wrapped around his arm like a snake and began to constrict.

'_This way, if he has any ninjutsu, he won't be able to use hand seals to use them.'_ Kankuro thought triumphantly.

Naruto quickly withdrew a kunai and attempted to hack off the arm binding him when the puppets other arm grabbed his wrist and wrapped around his free arm.

'_Dammit…'_ Naruto thought in annoyance.

He dropped the kunai to the ground but quickly placed his foot over the kunai and used chakra to pick it up and attach it to the sole of his shoe.

He kicked forward and cut the flow of chakra letting the kunai fly towards the puppet master.

Kankuro was so focused on his puppet; he nearly missed the kunai and dodged at the last second.

"Too bad" Kankuro smiled. Suddenly, he was knocked aside and flew into the wall. His chakra strings failed, leaving the puppet limp on the ground and Naruto Uzumaki standing over it checking on his arms.

'_I need to end this… I didn't think that would happen'_ he thought as he winced in pain.

Kankuro looked up and saw that the kunai he had dodged had actually been a shadow clone under a henge.

'_This guy is pretty clever.'_ Kankuro thought as he struggled to his feet. '_He hits fucking hard too.'_

The clone walked over to the original Naruto and they both looked down at the puppet. The original kicked it and it flew over to Kankuro.

"I want to destroy you and your doll at the same time…" Naruto said as his clone stood directly next to him.

Kankuro smirked. "I won't be fooled by that a second time."

"This is my last move. I suggest you prepare your own technique."

Kankuro reactivated his chakra strings. '_I'll use the poison hidden in the crow, and then I just have to avoid him until he passes out.'_ Kankuro thought with a grin.

The crow began to charge Naruto suddenly and the blonde grinned.

Both he and his clone ran through two different hand seals.

"**_Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu_**" The fireball raged forward but Kankuro was unimpressed. '_The crow can easily handle that level of a fire jutsu…'_

"**_Fūton: Daitoppa_**" The Naruto clone preformed his jutsu, causing the fireball jutsu to increase in both heat as well as size.

Kakashi grinned. '_Definitely a move I didn't expect from him… Very crafty using those two jutsu together to end the fight. Kankuro can't escape.'_

The flames roared as they consumed the crow in an instant. Kankuro stood in shock as time seemed to slow for him. The blast raged towards him, this was it… He was going to die at this point and there was nothing he could do about it.

Then, he was on the other end of the jutsu, watching as the blast consumed what seemed to be Naruto.

"W…what the hell?!" he exclaimed in confusion.

He looked over to see Naruto's foot hit him in the face.

Kankuro fell to the ground unconscious.

"Even if you are an asshole, I'm not about to needlessly kill you." Naruto said.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!" Hayate's voice announced.

Naruto looked up at Gaara and narrowed his eyes. "I'd flip you off but it's not worth the pain…"

With that said Naruto walked up the stairs and joined his sensei next to Asuma, Ino and the others.

"Good job Uzumaki!" Asuma said patting the boy on the back. "Using those two jutsu to beat him, really clever!"

Naruto grinned. "It was nothing! I've been practicing that move for a while to see how strong it could get, definitely a destructive jutsu combination."

Asuma laughed. "I like this kid!"

Ino and even Choji were slightly gawking at Naruto.

'_He could decimate us with that attack… The only reason Kankuro lived was because he used the Kawarimi technique… Even then it seemed too close for words.'_

Ino stared at Naruto when she blurted out, "What changed?"

Naruto looked over at her, a blank stare on his face.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked all too quickly.

'_Something definitely happened, his reaction seals it.'_ Ino thought.

"I mean before the academy, you never gave a damn, all you wanted to do was skip class and play pranks on the village. Then we find out that ever since you graduated you've thrown yourself into training! Something had to have happened to kick your ass into gear!" Ino nearly yelled. She wasn't sure why it was bugging her, but something wasn't right and she hated mysteries. Her father worked in interrogation and intelligence and Ino had clearly inherited her father's obsessions.

Naruto was silent for a moment. '_I can't tell her about what happened… The Mizuki incident was only for a few to know, and I can't tell her I was inspired by learning about my parents…'_

Kakashi decided to speak up suddenly.

"After graduation, Naruto got involved in some nasty business to say the least. I was there and he saw what he could become if he simply applied himself. It sounds dumb but sometimes the truth is just that."

Naruto glanced at Kakashi and sighed. "It's true… Sorry it was I just realized how dumb I had been."

Ino stared at the two for a moment as Kakashi sighed. '_She doesn't believe us…'_ Kakashi sighed.

"Come on Naruto… We need to get you to the infirmary and take care of your arms; it's amazing that you were able to use those jutsu so quickly."

Naruto nodded silently, trying to think of a way to start avoiding Ino Yamanaka. She was sure to start stalking him now that she thought he was hiding something. Once in the academy, she thought Kiba and Shikamaru were hiding a secret from her and she had spent the next two months harassing them and investigating them until she had found out that Kiba had found a stash of naughty magazines of Shikaku's and Shikamaru was trying to keep it from reaching his mother's ears.

Naruto could feel Ino's eyes boring into the back of his head as they walked away.

"Thanks for the cover…" Naruto said in a low voice as they went to the infirmary.

Kakashi shrugged. "She's a Yamanaka, so I doubt this is the end of it." Kakashi muttered.

Naruto groaned. "That's just what I don't need right now… If Ino finds out about who my parents are and what I am, she'll tell everyone."

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "Thankfully the records of Minato and Kushina have been destroyed or redacted to protect you."

Naruto looked at his teacher. "What?"

"Well, almost all of them. The Sandaime has a few records sealed away for when you need to claim your right as the inheritor of Kushina and Minato's legacies."

They turned a corner and entered the infirmary.

"If you're here to freak out about your friend again you'll have to leave!" a doctor said sternly when he saw the two enter the room.

Kakashi chuckled. "No need for that. Just need to get my student fixed up, he just won his fight."

The doctor eyed Naruto then glanced at Kakashi.

"Very well… He can wait over there…" The doctor said scowling.

Naruto frowned. '_Great… He knows what I am.'_

Naruto sighed as he sat down on a bench and waited while Kakashi stood beside him reading his usual smut.

Soon, half an hour passed, then an hour, and then two hours.

Finally Kakashi looked up and commented on the length of time.

"So this is how it feels for you guys when waiting for me?" Kakashi asked.

"Pretty much…" Naruto grumbled.

"…This sucks." Kakashi deadpanned.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his sensei. "It really does."

"How are you feeling Naruto-kun?" the Sandaime Hokage asked as he rounded a corner.

"Hokage-sama" Kakashi acknowledged going back to reading his book.

"Jii-san!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto stood up and winced at the pain in his arms.

The Sandaime noticed. "Nurse, may we have some privacy?" he asked of the receptionist.

The woman nodded and left without a word.

"Why has it not been healed, surely the Kyubi isn't beyond some slight fractures…"

"The seal has been tampered with Hokage-sama" Kakashi said without looking up from his novel. "My squad, as you well know, encountered Orochimaru in the forest of death and it seems that along with marking Sasuke with the curse mark, and has tampered with the seal sensei used."

The Sandaime frowned. "Let me see it…"

Naruto got up and struggled with taking his shirt off before focusing his chakra.

The Hokage's eyes analyzed the seal on the young blonde. '_A five element seal placed on top of the eight trigram seal… It's interesting that Naruto was still able to use those ninjutsu so effectively.'_

"Well I can take care of it quite easily." He rolled up one sleeve as his fingers began to glow purple.

"**Gogyō Kaiin!"**

The Sandaime struck Naruto the same way Orochimaru had done days prior.

Naruto fell to the floor coughing. "God that hurts…" he coughed out.

The Sandaime's technique faded away just as the seal on top of Naruto's original seal faded out of existence.

"How do you feel Naruto-kun?" The Hokage asked.

Naruto continued to cough for a moment. "Considering everything else that's happened this week, not bad." He got to his feet and felt something seep through him. '_Looks like the fox is finally helping out…'_ He felt as his arms quickly heal, the pain fading away. Glancing down, he tore of the bandages and watched as the wound from Kabuto slowly closed.

"It's getting faster" Naruto remarked.

"I can see that. Have you accessed the Kyubi's chakra lately?" The Sandaime asked, knowing full well that he had.

Naruto nodded. "When that Orochimaru guy came after us, the fox must have decided to help, but even with all that power, he still beat me."

The Hokage nodded. "Interesting… Did this happen independent of what you wanted?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Well, I did need the help and without it I might have been worse off. It only happens when I'm out of options."

The Sandaime nodded. '_So he has not been able to use it freely… That may be a good thing for now as we still don't fully understand the seal. I wish that Jiraiya were here to tend to the boy. Being Minato's sensei, he knows a majority of how his mind worked as well as how his jutsu worked.'_

"Well for now that will suffice… You had best come join the rest of the winners as the preliminaries are over, and we are about to assign you all your matches for the next exam."

* * *

Orochimaru looked upon his one time village from atop a tall building.

He smiled as he imagined what the village was to look like in a month's time.

He glanced at the Hokage monument at the four faces.

'_Sarutobi-sensei… I will definitely have fun watching how you react to fighting your peers.'_

He breathed in the fresh air, something that normally he wouldn't care for however he was feeling nostalgic for the days when he was a child.

He remembered his two teammates, Tsunade and Jiraiya's constant bickering. '_Simpler times'_ he sighed at the thought.

He glanced in the direction of the hospital of the village. He had sent Kabuto to try and abduct Sasuke, however if he failed it would not matter. In the end, Sasuke would come seeking him as they always do. It was simply a matter of time.

* * *

Naruto entered his apartment at long last. The second part of the exams were finished and the third exams were to be in a months time.

He flopped onto his mattress and groaned. Even though the fox had finally healed his injuries, Naruto felt exhausted from everything.

He looked out his window at the sun hanging in the sky, wondering if he should try seeing Sasuke or Sakura.

'_It's going to be weird not to see them nearly every day for a month…'_

Still lying in bed, he pulled off his Hitai-ate and stared at the leaf engraved in the metal.

"I'm getting closer…" he said softly. "This is just another step towards becoming your son…"

He placed the headband next to him as he slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

Ino had just gotten dressed after taking a long hot shower, washing away the dirt and grime from her hair and body. She had lucked into the finals. Her name was the only one to not come up and there were no opponents left for her to have to fight. She was grateful as now she had an advantage over everyone but her teammates. Her moves had not been seen by the others so she could take them by surprise.

As she sat and brushed her hair, her thoughts lingered on Sakura and how her hair was now so short.

'_We both grew our hair out to impress Sasuke-kun…'_ she thought with a smile. '_I hope those two are doing okay…'_ Her thoughts then took a turn and she began thinking about the blonde enigma of team seven. She grit her teeth as with every thought of how much Naruto seemed to be hiding angered her more and more. She slammed her hair brush down. "I need to get to the bottom of it!"

With that thought, she stormed out of her house and marched towards the Hokage tower, where all information about the village and its inhabitants were stored.

She was going to learn as much about the boy as she could to gain insight on him.

* * *

Kakashi scowled out the broken hospital window as Kabuto got away.

'_The boy is talented… But to come after Sasuke… He's working with Orochimaru.'_ Kakashi concluded as he turned to his unconscious student lying in bed.

ANBU guards littered the floor, dead.

Kakashi stepped over a body and approached his student. He inspected the seal containing the curse mark to ensure that it had not been tampered with.

Sighing in relief he glanced back at the bodies in the room. "I had better inform the Hokage of this."

* * *

Ino huffed as she scanned the archives for the Uzumaki name.

She pursed her lips as the files were not at all organized.

'_For a ninja village, we could really use some more organization…'_ she thought angrily.

Then it caught her eye, the file of one Naruto Uzumaki.

She quickly grabbed it and walked the large file over to the table.

She placed it on the table and opened it to find a picture of the blonde.

'_Not a terrible photo'_ Ino thought at the outfit he was wearing.

She turned to the next page to see his name and rank, and physical attributes and his birthday. October 10.

'_Why does that date feel so familiar?'_ she wondered.

She shook her head and turned the page. Suddenly, she saw pages full of blacked out lines.

'_These files were redacted? What the hell?'_

She turned the pages over and over, finding nothing but black blocks where words once were.

'_That Kabuto guy was right about his file being redacted…'_

She continued to flip through the pages and found a few parts without the censorship.

It was dated when they were all about 5 years of age.

Ino felt her heart skip a beat at finally finding some information. The clearly classified information seemed to just make Ino hungrier for information.

It was marked seven years ago.

Ino began reading carefully, ensuring she didn't miss a single detail.

_October 10__th__._

_Naruto Uzumaki hospitalized for multiple beatings outside of orphanage. Several Genin detained as well as many civilians._

Ino narrowed her eyes. '_I know Naruto was a prankster for parts of his academy years, but why beat a child?'_ She thought in horror. She glanced again at the date. '_His birthday? What the fuck?'_

She glanced through again and found another incident on October 9th the year after.

Another beating ending in hospitalization.

Ino grit her teeth. "What the fuck?" she whispered to herself. There were two more incidents over the next two years, on the same date, October 10th.

'_Well no wonder we never heard when his birthday was in the academy'_ She thought, remembering that everyone had celebrated their birthdays except for Naruto.

She frowned. '_With all of these things happening, how was he always so happy?'_

She flipped through it until she got to more parts that were available for reading. Many of them detailed the many pranks the boy had pulled on the village.

She slightly smiled at some of them; remember how Iruka-sensei had reacted to them.

Then she got to the graduation day. It said that he had initially failed the exams and was to be held back, again.

"Dammit… Again with the secrecy!" Ino nearly shouted. Someone in the large library shushed her and Ino pursed her lips.

Everything else from the day had been redacted again.

She turned the page to find details of the missions they had taken, including reports from their sensei.

Then, she found something interesting.

"A 'C' ranked mission turned into an 'A' rank mission" Ino murmured.

She read through the mission log, how they had encountered the demon brothers, then Zabuza, then the mystery shinobi that faked Zabuza's death. Kakashi's incapacitation, Sasuke and Sakura training, and then encountering Zabuza. Then once again, the sensors struck again.

She punched the hard wood table in frustration. The redacted documents were getting more and more annoying.

She closed the book angrily, knowing after that, came some other missions that meant nothing and then the Chunin exams, if they had been updated recently that is.

She picked the file up, grumbling about how unfair secrets were when another file caught her eye. The name Uzumaki was on it as well.

She stared at it for a moment and glanced around to see if anyone else was watching.

She grabbed the file and ran back to the table with it.

"Kushina Uzumaki?" she read aloud in confusion.

'_Never heard of her…'_ she thought to herself.

She opened the file to find that this file was also quite redacted, but not to the same extent.

"So she's from whirlpool country… Graduated at the normal age… Nothing too crazy."

There was a lot of censorship so she decided to skip ahead.

In the middle of the book was a picture of a beautiful woman with red hair.

'_She gorgeous!'_ Ino mentally exclaimed, becoming slightly jealous of just how pretty she was.

She leafed through until the end of the pages where she saw a date.

"Deceased… October 10th… Thirteen years ago…" Ino frowned. It was once again Naruto's birthday. She looked through the pages to find a cause of death to come across something that shocked her.

"One of the many casualties during the Kyubi attack on the village…"

Ino began to tear up. "Naruto… You never even met your own mother…" she said with realization.

'_He never did talk about her… Maybe he didn't know… Maybe he found out who she was… What happened to her…?'_

She pulled out the picture and shut the folder.

Leaving both Naruto's and Kushina's folders, Ino left the shinobi archives, wiping tears from her face.

* * *

Naruto woke with a start. He looked outside to see the sun beginning to rise.

'_I think I just slept for a whole night and day…'_ Naruto thought groggily.

He got out of bed quickly shedding his clothes and walked to his shower, and got in. He turned it on, not caring that the water was freezing cold.

He stood there simply enjoying the cold drops of water bouncing off of his body.

Finally beginning to wake up he left the shower and went to get dressed. He clothed himself in his typical black outfit and reached for a jacket when he realized he didn't have any left.

He glanced at his father's jacket hanging there and smiled shaking his head.

'_I don't think I'll be able to wear it ever… After all it's made for the Yondaime Hokage, not some Genin…' _

Naruto closed his closet with a sigh. He walked to his bed and placed his headband on.

He looked out the window at the shining sky and smiled. '_Gotta love Konoha…'_ He left his apartment and walked through the village, his hands in his pockets, just observing the scenery. He hadn't taken the time to simply just look at the village lately. He noticed a lot of people went out of their way to avoid him, but a few gave him a wave here and there, though it wasn't many.

He finally reached where he had set out to go. Ichiraku ramen. Smiling he entered the stand to see the old man making more ramen.

"Ah my favorite customer!" Teuchi exclaimed.

"One bowl of pork ramen please!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

"One pork ramen coming right up!" The ramen owner. Within a few minutes, a nice hot bowl of ramen was sitting in front of Naruto.

Naruto began to scarf down the bowl enthusiastically when someone else entered the tent.

"It smells wonderful in here Teuchi!" a man's voice exclaimed.

"Ah, Jiraiya-sama!" Teuchi said in surprise. "It's been years!"

"That it has!" An older man sat beside Naruto. He had long white hair and wore a plate on his head with small horns on it and the kanji for oil.

Jiraiya glanced at Naruto and something flashed in his eyes.

'_Dammit… Now I have to sit next to another guy that hates the Kyubi…'_ Naruto thought angrily.

"Hey old man, I'm done for the day, I'll catch up with you later?" he asked.

Teuchi nodded as Naruto passed him the empty bowl. "I want to hear how the exams are going Naruto" Teuchi said as Naruto walked away.

"Naruto Uzumaki eh?" Jiraiya said softly once he was out of earshot.

Teuchi smiled. "He's grown up quite a bit. I remember his parents always coming here… Technically you came up with his name here right?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "That's why they named me godfather. All cause of a book I wrote."

Teuchi smiled. "Do you think you'll finally be able to start helping him?"

Jiraiya nodded. "I don't have a choice… I've learned some things while abroad… Some powerful people are after Naruto and I need to make sure he's safe… He is my godchild after all."

* * *

Naruto walked through the forest, his eyes narrowed. The old man from the Ichiraku's was following him currently.

Naruto was awaiting some kind of ambush as he walked on but nothing had happened yet.

He stopped in the middle of a clearing and waited his arms to his side, fists clenched.

The old man had stopped just out of sight and was watching him intently.

Naruto grit his teeth and whirled around, unleashing a handful of shuriken.

As the stars cut through the air, Naruto was anticipating the old mans next move as he clearly was a shinobi.

"AAAAHHHHH!" The old man cried out.

Naruto froze in place. '_Holy shit did I just attack a civilian?!'_ He thought panicked.

He ran forward through the bushes to find the old man on the ground, tears rolling down his face as three of the stars protruded from his rear end.

"W…why?" the man asked as tears comically poured down his face.

"I thought you were coming after me!" Naruto yelled in fear. If the Hokage got wind of this he was in so much trouble.

"I wasn't following you I was doing some research!" The old man yelled as he stood up and toward over the blonde boy.

"Research on what?!"

The old man pointed past some bushes. Naruto glanced over at the man and slowly stepped over to the bushes, expecting an ambush. What he didn't expect was a view of a waterfall and small creek where four women in bikinis were enjoying the cool water on the warm day.

"You see I am a novelist" The man spoke as he pulled out the same book that Kakashi always had his nose buried in.

Naruto's jaw dropped. '_I just attacked the guy that writes Kakashi's smut! Oh dear god, I hope Kakashi never finds out…'_ He could simply imagine an infuriated Kakashi at the prospect of what was more than likely his hero dying. '_This guy must be Kakashi's hero for writing those books.'_ Naruto thought dryly.

"So… You were researching for smut?"

"To put it simply, yes I was." The man said proudly.

Naruto stared at him. "Sorry I thought you were some kind of shinobi…"

The man grinned widely. "Well that I am young man. You see I am the great sage of mountMyoboku!"

He suddenly weaved hand seals so fast, Naruto had trouble reading them. Slamming his hand down, a large toad appeared beneath the man.

"I am the great Sannin, Jiraiya!"

As the man posed, he noticed Naruto's demeanor change.

"Did you just say a Sannin?" Naruto asked, his eyes filled with rage.

Jiraiya frowned. "Yes kid I did…"  
Suddenly Naruto charged forward with speed that surprised him.

Jiraiya blocked a strike from the boy, instantly recognizing the form.

'_Goken Taijutsu eh? I guess this kid has Gai for a sensei.'_

Suddenly Naruto grinned as two Naruto's charged from behind.

'_The kid is talented… But he's overconfident'_ Jiraiya thought to himself.

Without hesitation he threw Naruto off balance and kicked him away to find that it was simply a shadow clone. '_Advance technique'_ Jiraiya thought as he whirled around and caught the two strikes from the Naruto and tossed them aside.

"**_Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu_**" A fireball hurdled towards Jiraiya who seemed mildly impressed. '_Last I heard he was completely inept… Guess he got serious with his training.'_

He jumped out of the way as another Naruto intercepted him and engaged him in another bout of Taijutsu.

"So kid, what's your beef with Sannin?" Jiraiya asked as he blocked and dodged every hit Naruto dolled out.

Naruto grit his teeth. "You're friend is what bothers me! Whatever Orochimaru did to Sasuke I'm gonna make you all pay!" Naruto roared as he took a powerful swing at the man.

Jiraiya ducked underneath it while blocking another strike from a Naruto clone.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. '_SO he's fought him has he? I better end this and put things right.'_

Naruto smiled as he thought he was beginning to gain some ground when suddenly in a flash he was on the ground with Jiraiya's foot on his chest.

"Enough" he said powerfully, causing Naruto to cringe. This man was not to be trifled with, Naruto could tell now. He had hidden his clones in the trees and was planning a large scale fire and wind attack when they had suddenly all vanished just as Naruto had hit the ground.

"How did you do that?" Naruto asked, completely shocked.

Jiraiya smiled. "Even if you are a decent Genin, you're nowhere near the power of one of the Sannin. But shouldn't you know that since you met Orochimaru?"

Naruto smirked. "Well obviously you're much stronger than him. My team and I had him on the ropes for a bit."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this. "He was obviously toying with your team then… Between Orochimaru and me, we're completely even… He may be just a bit above me even, but that's just because of morals."

Naruto frowned. '_Why did he attack us then?'_ He wondered. Seeing Naruto's reaction, Jiraiya withdrew his foot.

"Now that you know you're no match for me, what's your name?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto scowled at this. "You know full well who I am if you're a leaf ninja."

Jiraiya nodded. "I do, but I figured common courtesy was important."  
Naruto sat up and glared at him. "So what? You want to come challenge the Kyubi or something?"

Jiraiya shook his head and raised his hands defensively. "No no nothing like that! I already told you, I was doing my research."

Naruto stood up and nodded. "I know you said that, I just thought you were lying since you're a Sannin."

Jiraiya chuckled. "We all have our vices." He was thinking of course about Orochimaru's lack of humanity and grotesque experiments and Tsunade's gambling and drinking problems.

"Well, I'll just leave you to your research then… I need to go train" Naruto said brushing the dirt of his shirt and turning to leave.

"Train? For the Chunin exams?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Figured if I didn't, I wouldn't stand a chance against some of them."

His thoughts lingered on Rock Lee, Neji and Gaara.

He had not seen Neji's fight, but he knew that to be one of Lee's rivals, you had to be strong.

"Well how would you like some help from a Sannin?!" Jiraiya asked exuberantly.

Naruto stared at the man, considering the offer. He was hoping that Kakashi may have been available for some additional training.

Jiraiya noticed his hesitation and grinned. "Believe me, I've trained the best. Surely you know of my most famous student, the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Y…you trained my dad?" Naruto slapped a hand to his mouth realizing he had just said something he had not meant to.

Jiraiya was surprised at this response. '_When the hell did he find out about his father?'_

"How much do you know kid?" Jiraiya said. "I thought the Sandaime Hokage wasn't going to tell you about your heritage for sometime."

Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Some stuff happened and he felt it would be best to tell me about my parents." Naruto sighed. It was weird that this was the second person in the past week that he was talking to about his parents. It felt nice having some people to talk to about it.

Naruto sat down and looked up at the toad sage. "So you trained my dad… Guess that makes you like some kind of grandfather sensei."

Jiraiya laughed at that. "Well, I'm a bit more than that. Let's just say that due to the process of naming you, I became your godfather."

Naruto stared at the man. "So you're my godfather…" he said quietly. "The Hokage said you couldn't be here for me because you were out of the village gathering information."

Jiraiya nodded as he sat down next to the young Genin.

"I've been tracking Orochimaru's activities as well as some other powerful Shinobi."

Naruto nodded. "So you couldn't take me with you?"

Jiraiya noticed Naruto's tone of voice and frowned. "I wish I could have brought you with me, but your parents wouldn't have appreciated it… I was in constant danger and having a child with me would have put us both at risk. If you had come with me in the beginning, we wouldn't be here right now."

Naruto nodded, understanding the answer.

"That doesn't mean that I didn't take care of you though. The money that the Hokage provided to you for living expenses when you left the orphanage wasn't the villages, it was my own."  
This caught Naruto's attention.

"Y…you were the one sending me money?" Naruto felt his heart skip a beat.

Jiraiya nodded. "I couldn't be here in person for you, but I swore to Minato and Kushina that I'd take care of you in one way or another. That was the best way I could considering the circumstances."

Naruto smiled sadly as he stared up at the blue sky.

Jiraiya watched him for a moment, thinking of his student that looked so much like his son.

"So… you'd be willing to help me train?" Naruto asked after a few minutes of silence.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Well it's a father's duty to help his son become a man, and since your own father is unable, I automatically fall into that position."

Naruto stood up, feeling a fire welling up inside of him.

"Then please help me! I want to make my father proud and become a Hokage even stronger than he was!"

Jiraiya laughed as he jumped to his feet. "I like the attitude kid! Let's get to it!"

* * *

Ino arrived home and ran up to her room and placed the picture of Kushina Uzumaki on her dresser. She stood there and stared at the picture of the beautiful kunoichi for a few moments.

"Why did I take this?" she asked herself.

There was a knock at her door, startling her.

"Ino-chan?" her father's voice called out.

"Come in daddy" Ino said, her heart beating quickly.

Her father entered her room. "How are you doing?" he asked worriedly.

Ino smiled. "I'm holding up alright considering everything."

Inoichi nodded. "Well I just received word that Sakura is awake at the hospital, so if you wanted you could go visit her."

Ino smiled. "She's okay?"

Inoichi smiled. "She'll be in the hospital for a while but she's not in any danger."

Ino ran to her father and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you so much daddy!" Inoichi nodded, however his face had fallen as he noticed a familiar picture on her dresser.

He pulled her away gazing at her with intensity.

"Where did you get that picture Ino?" he asked fiercely. Ino was shocked at her fathers change in demeanor.

"W…what do you mean?" she asked.

He walked to the dresser and held up the picture of Kushina.  
"This picture, why do you have it?!" he nearly yelled.

"I uh… It was the shinobi archives. I was just looking into something and came across her picture."  
Inoichi's eyes narrowed. "Why are you looking into Naruto Uzumaki?!"

"H…how did you know that I was looking into him?" she asked, her eyes tearing up. Her father had never been like this with her before.

He realized that he was scaring his daughter and took a deep breath.

"I…I'm sorry Ino… Just answer me, why are you looking into Naruto." He asked much more calmly.

"He… he's changed so much so quickly, I just thought it was strange… So I looked for his file to see if I could gain some insight on him that I may not have known."

Inoichi nodded. "What did you find?"

Ino bit her lip nervously. "His file is redacted… there's very little I could learn… Then I found her file… Kushina. She died the same day Naruto was born and I made the conclusion that she was probably his mother."

Inoichi nodded as he considered the photo.

"Ino… I'm not asking you this as your father but as a Jonin of the village hidden in the leaves, stop… Stop looking into this, it doesn't concern you. The boy has his secrets and they involve the village, if you look too far into them you will get into to trouble and there is nothing I can do to keep you safe."

Ino nodded, feeling suddenly scared. "…I….I won't dad… I promise… I won't look into it anymore…"

Inoichi nodded. "I love you sweetie but I do need to report this to the Hokage."

Ino's head whipped around. '_The Hokage?! Why would this concern him?'_

Noticing the look on her face Inoichi sighed. "Ino-chan, the secrets about Naruto do concern the Hokage… If you look into this, you could be pout to death… That's how serious it is."

Ino nodded, after thinking that she had it all figured out about Naruto and his mother, they mystery seems to have only deepened. She had been wrong when she assumed that was all there was to Naruto, that he had just found out about his mother. There was a lot more to it, and she wanted to know. But she didn't want to get into trouble with the Hokage. She needed to figure out a way to get the information she wanted without getting caught… Just like a shinobi.

"I promise you dad, I won't look into it anymore."

Inoichi nodded. "Make sure that you don't." He looked at the picture and turned away before Ino asked him, "So is it true? Is that woman Naruto's mother?"

Inoichi stopped and stared at the picture. "Ino… I cannot answer that. The only person that can provide information to you is Naruto himself of his own free will…" With that said, he closed the door behind him.

Ino sighed and sat on her bed, staring at the door. '_So only Naruto can tell me…'_

* * *

The Hokage narrowed his eyes as Inoichi finished explaining and handed him the picture of Kushina.

"I must give credit to your daughter Inoichi. When she is determined she goes above and beyond" he said amused.

Inoichi sighed. "I'm afraid of how intelligent she can be. If she had just applied herself more in the academy and in her training rather than obsess over Sasuke and Naruto."

Hiruzen chuckled as he set down his pipe. "I believe they are two different obsessions. This obsession she has to find out Naruto's secrets is definitely what makes a great Shinobi."

Inoichi huffed. "Wish she would stop fawning over the Uchiha. I hate that she has a crush on a boy."

Sarutobi laughed heartily at this. "We all must let go Inoichi you must know this! But from what I understand, you won't have to worry about the boy going after your daughter. He doesn't seem interested in any of the girls from his class."

Inoichi smiled. "And I am thankful for this."  
Sarutobi looked down at the picture of Kushina then up at the picture of Minato that hung next to the pictures of the Hokage's.

"I must say I did not expect to see a picture of her again" Inoichi said. "She was quite beautiful."  
The Hokage nodded. "It's such a shame that Naruto could not have known her."

"Or his father" Inoichi said as he looked at the picture of the Hokage's.

"Now then, about your daughter Inoichi. I'll have Kakashi go through the archives and make sure that there is nothing to link Kushina and Naruto to Minato."

Inoichi nodded. "Thank you Hokage-sama" he said bowing.

* * *

Naruto fell to the ground painfully, the Sannin standing over him.

Naruto had a large gash in his forehead that was pouring blood.

"Well, your Taijutsu is interesting and quite powerful… However I think we could improve it. It's far too similar to the Goken which I feel you aren't made for."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Gai-sensei was a Taijutsu master and had recommended this style for him.

"I think we could change some things around to really utilize your power without having to have you depend on the Goken."

Naruto stood up, wiping the blood that trailed along his face.

"You're ninjutsu are quite powerful and you can utilize them creatively."

Naruto nodded as he touched the gash on his head and winced.

"With Genjutsu…" the older man started.

"I suck… I know" Naruto said angrily.

Jiraiya nodded. "However that isn't terrible. You don't seem like you'd want to use Genjutsu, but we need to teach you to disperse it."

Naruto sighed. "Any jutsu you could teach me? My teammate Sasuke is pretty aware of what I'm capable of and I want to have a trump card to pull out."  
Jiraiya thought for a moment. "Well… you could always sign the summoning contract of the toads."

Naruto brightened up at this. "Toad summoning? Like my father?!"

Jiraiya nodded. "Maybe eventually, you could even do some sage training."

"What is sage training?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya shook his head. "One thing at a time kid. Sage training is pretty intense and isn't for everyone."

Naruto nodded, but he would definitely bug the man about it again later on.

"So what do you say Naruto? Would you like to sign the contract?"

Naruto thought of his father before answering. "Yes. Like father like son."

* * *

Sakura lay on a hospital bed encased in a full body cast. She was severely uncomfortable however she was no longer in pain. The painkillers were working their magic.

The door opened and in walked her sensei.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei" she croaked out. She had not realized how dry her throat was.

"Need a drink?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah" Sakura coughed.

Kakashi walked the table next to her that had a jug of water as well as a glass and a straw. He poured water into the cup and brought it to her. He positioned the straw for her and let her drink. Very quickly, the glass was empty and Sakura was thanking her sensei.

"Parents come and visit you yet?" Kakashi asked as he set the glass down.

Sakura tried nodded. "I was just waking up but they were here. They told me what happened."  
"I see. Well I wish I had been there for you Sakura and for that I apologize."

"It's fine sensei" Sakura said. "So how are Sasuke and Naruto?"

Kakashi smiled. "Sasuke is resting currently so don't worry about anything, the curse mark isn't a problem anymore. Naruto is off training I think. He won his match so he'll be in the next round." Kakashi said.

"Who is he facing?" Sakura asked quickly, fearing that he might be fighting the boy that had nearly killed her.

Kakashi noted her fear. "It isn't Gaara so there's no need to worry about his safety. I have faith that he'll defeat his opponent."

Sakura was about to ask again who was facing Naruto when the door opened again. She saw her one time friend Ino Yamanaka walk in the room holding a vase full of flowers.

Kakashi glanced at the blonde girl and turned his attention back to his student.

"I'll leave the two of you and I'll check back in with you later Sakura. Just keep resting and I'll let Naruto know that you've woken up. He'll definitely want to know."

"Okay. Thanks Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said as he walked past Ino.

The door closed behind him and Ino placed the vase of flowers next to the bed.

"Did I tell you that you have a hot sensei?" Ino said.

"Oh my god INO!" Sakura exclaimed.

Ino laughed. "Well… he seems handsome. Can't tell with that mask on his face."

Sakura sighed. Leave it to Ino to rate her sensei's looks.

"You feeling alright?" Ino asked as she looked her up and down.

"I'm fine now… I don't even remember the pain to be honest… I just remember the sand coming at me and the next thing I'm here in the hospital."

"He nearly killed you. If Naruto hadn't freaked out, he might have."

Sakura had not heard about Naruto's freak out and was surprised to hear about it.

"W…what?" she asked blushing slightly.

"Yeah. When you were screaming, Naruto flipped out and when they took you to the infirmary, he nearly got into a fight just to see if you were okay."

Sakura thought about her blonde teammate and how things between the two of them had been quite rocky. Things had been getting better but she did not expect him to react in such a way.

"Speaking of Naruto… I found something out about him." Ino said excitedly.

"What?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah… I was at the Hokage tower and looking through his file when I came across another Uzumaki!"

"Who?" Sakura asked, her curiosity taking over.

"I think it's his mother. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki but she passed away the same day Naruto was born."

Sakura bit her lip thinking about that. "Anything about Naruto's father?"

Ino shook her head. But then she began telling her about her father's reaction to finding the picture of Kushina in her room and how the Hokage was involved. Then Ino told her about her plan to have Naruto tell her the information outright.

"You can't be serious…" Sakura deadpanned.

Ino shrugged. "Asking him out for some dates isn't a terrible idea. He isn't as annoying as he used to be and he's kinda handsome."

"Yeah but you don't even like him that way…" Sakura countered.

"Why are you so against this…? Are you jealous?" Ino teased.

Sakura went red. "NO! I only have eyes for Sasuke-kun… But… he is my teammate and you're my friend. I don't want things to get weird between the two of you… What if he gets mad when he finds out that it was all just to get information from him?"

Ino smiled. "I won't tell him that. I'll just say that I don't think he and I would be a good fit and that we can still be friends."

Sakura sat there for a moment. "Would he be okay with that?"

Ino shrugged. "I don't know… But that's what they do in all those novels and movies."

Sakura stared at Ino. "This isn't a novel or a movie though."

"I know that but what else could I do?" Ino asked. "Look… I'll make it clear it'll be as friends… That way he can expect anything. Besides, he's never been on a date, so it's not like he's expecting one."

"Neither have you" Sakura snapped.

"Wow… Maybe you do have a crush on Naruto" Ino teased again.

"Shut up!"

* * *

Jiraiya smiled as he handed the contract back to his toad. Naruto had signed it and had noticed his fathers name on the scroll. The boy had seemed to tear up slightly but shaken it off.

"Now then, do the signs that I have shown you and try summoning the largest toad that you can. But don't be disappointed if it's not big enough."  
Naruto nodded as he stepped back and bit his thumb, swiped the blood on his palm and ran through the seals. He slammed his down on the ground and a poof later, a small orange toad stood before him.

"Yo" it said. Naruto stared at it before sighing. '_This is all I can do?'_

Jiraiya smiled. "Not bad kid. At least it wasn't a tadpole or anything."

Naruto nodded and glanced at the toad.

"Got any snacks?" it asked.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Uh… Not right now… Maybe next time I will?"

The toad stared at him, sizing him up. "I guess that'll be okay. The names Gamakichi. Who are you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

The jumped up and landed on Naruto's head. "You look familiar" he said. The toad glanced over at the old man next. "Hey it's Jiraiya!" Gamakichi exclaimed happily.

"Got any treats for me you old perv?"

Jiraiya chuckled and dug into his pocket and withdrew some candy and tossed it into the air. With surprising speed, Gamakichi leapt off of Naruto's head and caught the candy in his little arms.

"Nice!" it said as it saw the selection. "Guess I'll stick around and watch the kid train. I'm assuming that's what's happening?" Jiraiya nodded.

"He's go some potential" the Sannin said. "Try one more time Naruto; channel as much Chakra into it as you can!"

Naruto nodded as he stared at the ground intensely. He built up the chakra, probably using more than he really needed. He swiped his bleeding thumb on his palm again and went through the same seals. Jiraiya noticed the amount of chakra in this technique.

"This should be interesting…"  
A large explosion of smoke later and Naruto was standing atop a giant toad wielding a sasumata in one hand and a large shield in the other.

'_Whoa… He summoned Gamaken. That's pretty good!'_ Jiraiya thought in surprise. He had half expected Naruto to summon Gamabunta, but had just been a slight amount of chakra shy of the needed amount of chakra.

Gamaken looked down at the Sannin.

"Hello Jiraiya-sama" he greeted. He spotted the young toad next to the sage. "Gamakichi as well I see. Why have I been summoned?"

Naruto answered from atop his head. "Uh… I was just training and trying out the summoning technique for the first time."

Gamaken nodded slightly, as to not throw the young boy from his head.

"So we have a new addition to the contract. Most impressive from the sound of your voice you are quite young to have been able to summon me."  
Naruto jumped down from Gamaken's head and landed next to Jiraiya. Gamaken noted the blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Ah. The Namikaze boy's heir. No wonder he summoned me."  
Naruto was surprised that the toad knew who his father was but made no mention of it.

"Well, I am quite clumsy however if you ever need assistance, feel free to summon me to your side" Gamaken said as he bowed slightly.

'_I like this guy'_ Naruto thought with a smile. '_But how clumsy is he?'_ he wondered.

"Thank you Gamaken" Jiraiya answered him. "You can head back home; we were just seeing if it was possible to summon Gamabunta was all."  
Naruto glanced at the man, having not been told that.

"AH… Bunta may not be as clumsy as I, however he is not as patient either Jiraiya-sama." The large toad spoke.

Jiraiya laughed. "Oh don't I know it. Figured he'd like to meet the new summoner though."  
Gamaken nodded. "I will bring news of him back to Bunta for you. I bid you all farewell."  
The toad vanished in an explosion of smoke, leaving the two Shinobi and the small toad alone.

"Who's Gamabunta?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"He's my father and the chief toad" Gamakichi answered.

Jiraiya nodded. "He's also very short tempered."

Naruto smiled. '_Sounds like my kind of toad.'_

"Well, let's try something else; I don't feel like having to hide from Bunta. You seem to not need much help with summoning. How about learning one of your father's original techniques?"

* * *

Gamabunta was enjoying lounging among the statues of frogs smoking his pipe when Gamaken appeared before him.

"There is a new summoner Bunta-sama." Gamaken stated.

"Who would this be?" Gamabunta asked, blowing out smoke.

"The son of Minato Namikaze and the student of Jiraiya. A boy named Naruto."

Gamabunta coughed as he heard the information.

"The son of Minato?! He signed the contract?"

Suddenly, a small elderly toad hopped between the two.

"Gramps did you hear?" Gamabunta asked as he lightly coughed.

"Yes Bunta-boy… So Minato's son has finally signed the contract. Perhaps this boy is the one from Jiraiya-boys prophecy…"

Bunta nodded in agreement. "Well I am glad he signed the contract with us already. We shall have to keep an eye on the boy's progress… Perhaps in the future, he could come here and train with us. He could surpass his predecessors with sage training… He is after all an Uzumaki as well."

The old toad nodded. "Maybe Jiraiya will bring him here soon enough…"

* * *

Gaara sat upon a building looking at the night sky, enjoying the fresh air. This village was much nicer than Sunagakure. It was warm, not hot. The sun shined, but did not beat down on them. Water was a luxury here, not just a resource. And yet, Gaara longed for the desert. He enjoyed the sand and the sun that he was used to.

"What is it?" he asked suddenly as his two siblings appeared behind him.

"We just wanted to check on you" Temari said. Gaara said nothing as he gazed at the large moon hanging in the sky.

Kankuro looked up at the orb as well then back to his younger brother. "I wanted to let you know I'm heading back to the village to meet with the Kazekage and give him the intel you gave me."

Gaara nodded. "Naruto Uzumaki… I am sure he is like me…"

Kankuro shivered. If the boy was a Jinchuriki as Gaara suspected, he had not shown the same instability Gaara had. Perhaps he was weaker than his brother, or he had more control over the beast he harbored. Either way, he was lucky to have lived through his match against the boy. Which was why he wasn't terribly angry about the fate of this puppet that had been reduced to ash.

"I want to be the one to kill him… Let the Kazekage know this… I want to see if this Naruto is not just a Jinchuriki, but someone that can make me feel alive…"

He turned to Temari. "If he is a Jinchuriki, then he cannot be harmed… You are the one to fight him in the finals, so you will not hold back… Attempt to kill him, show me if he is worthy.

Temari nodded as she remembered how the Uzumaki boy had drawn the number that would pit her against him. They were to be the second match in the Chunin exams finals.

"Yes Gaara… I will."  
Gaara returned his gaze to the moon.

'_Naruto Uzumaki… If you are like me… Then you shall kill her as I will kill you…'_

* * *

**_And that is the chapter. So the match ups have definitely changed and will slowly be revealed during the next chapter. _**

**_So I hope you enjoyed the changes and please, review, follow anything like that if you have enjoyed the story._**

**_Till next time._**


	10. Preparation

_**Well some things have come to my attention, I screwed up with Kakashi talking to Naruto about his father and 'revealing' he knew. Trouble is i did that when he killed Gato... Whoops that was a fuck up... I will be going back and fixing that in the Gato chapter as it flowed better in the chunin exams. Thank you for the heads up One Warrior 86, I really do appreciate it!**_

_**Anyways, i just wanted to say that Naruto will not become some super godly powerful Genin in the one month. He is going to be stronger, but Kakashi and Gai could still kick them around. Naruto will learn more than Rasengan and summoning though, and I hope you have fun trying to figure it out. If you feel like guessing, feel free to leave a review with your guesses.**_

_**Also to address other concerns, I am not taking months to update this story any more, unless I have to. I write this in my free time at work, or when i'm not with friends, or the Mrs, or the xbox. Yeah, I'm an Xbox guy, sorry PS3. So there will not be another 2 year break, again I'm so sorry that happened but shit happened. I'm hoping for at least a chapter a month, if not more. **_

_**So I hope that gave you some satisfaction.**_

_**Also, anyone have any suggestions on good Naruto Fanfics with Naruto/Ino, Naruto/Sakura or even Naruto/Anko?**_

_**I get bored at work and want a good read.**_

_**Please let me know.**_

_**On to the story now!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Preparation**_

* * *

Naruto fell to the ground, his breath labored. His hand shook from the chakra burn he was currently experiencing.

Jiraiya sat some distance away watching the boy. '_He's already on the last step of the Rasengan… Amazing. It's been less than a week.'_

He had made a bet that if Naruto had learned this within a month, Jiraiya would continue training him well after the Chunin Exams. Of course, he had already been planning on doing so but he wasn't about to tell him that.

Naruto forced himself up.

"I think that's enough on practicing the Rasengan Naruto" Jiraiya called to his new apprentice.

Naruto huffed as he shook his arm, as if trying to get a bug off of his hand.

Jiraiya jumped up and walked to the boy.

"Let's do some more Taijutsu training. I'm not a fan of Goken and believe me that we can teach you a much better style that will suit you."

Naruto nodded, knowing at this point not to argue with the man. When he had when Jiraiya had first brought this up, he had told him to spar with the old man. He had ended up unconscious four different times that day and the man was still holding back.

"Now do you remember what I've taught you so far?" Jiraiya asked. The blonde nodded silently. Jiraiya smiled. "You're quiet today."  
Naruto chuckled. "Kinda figured not to talk back to you now…"  
Jiraiya grinned. "Excellent! Let's get to business and show me what you've learned so far!"

* * *

Sasuke awoke with a start. He sat up looking around wildly to realize that he was still out training with Kakashi. The two of them had left the village and gone to a deserted area away from prying eyes. Kakashi had not been kind to the boy during their training sessions, saying that Sasuke needed to play some catch up with the rest of the competition.

He had been briefed of the other contestants abilities that had been displayed during the exams, specifically the boy that he was going to be pitted against in the exams.

Sasuke looked over to see that Kakashi had disappeared from his sleeping bag not far off.

'_Where the hell did he go?'_ Sasuke wondered. Lying back down, he stared at the star filled sky and briefly wondered who Naruto had been training with. Kakashi had hinted that Naruto had found a trainer for the month and that Kakashi was going to focus solely on Sasuke.

He thought of the blonde and how so many questions regarding him had arisen. Something about that seal had seemed so much more than what Naruto had said it was, especially when Kakashi had grilled him about it when he brought it up.

Sasuke turned and lay on his side. In the distance he could spot the lights of the village.

His new objective was there. The boy known as Gaara had gone after his teammate and nearly killed her. Sakura may have been a pain, but she was part of Sasuke's team and therefore she was friend.

Add to that, Naruto had looked past his experiences with the pink haired girl and had vowed to repay Gaara for Sakura's suffering.

Sasuke closed his eyes. '_I need to get back to sleep… I need my energy to keep up with this crazy regime.'_

* * *

Kakashi watched as Naruto stumbled into his rundown neighborhood. '_Looks like he's being run ragged.'_

"I thought you left the village" a voice said behind the copy nin.

"Jiraiya-sama… I was just worried about my student is all. Minato-sensei told me about what you put him through when you apprenticed him."

Jiraiya laughed heartily. "I didn't think I was that bad."

Down on the street Naruto slowly made his way into his apartment building and disappeared from sight.

Kakashi turned to the Sannin.

"So any specific jutsu you're teaching him?" Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya grinned. "Of course, but I want that to be a surprise! Besides, there's no need to tell Sasuke about it."

Kakashi chuckled at this. "I told Sasuke everything about everyone except for Naruto. I can't pick favorites between the two of them. They're both fantastic students."

Jiraiya nodded as he walked over to the tall Jonin. He watched as Naruto's apartment flooded with light and Naruto dragged himself to his bed before passing out, the lights still on.

"I'm pushing him to get stronger, and soon we'll also look into accessing the Kyubi's chakra."  
Kakashi narrowed his eye at this. "Do you think he's ready for that?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "He's a Jinchuriki, there's never a time when they're ready for it. But he will need that power for what's in store for him."

"What do you mean?"

Jiraiya turned back to the Hatake.

"That Gaara boy, he's not just the Kazekage's son. He's the sand village's Jinchuriki and from I can gather, he's taken an interest in Naruto."  
Kakashi's eye widened. "Two Jinchuriki's in the exams? That could end… badly."  
Jiraiya nodded. "If my instincts are right, Gaara can access the Biju's power at will, but Naruto cannot."

Kakashi folded his arms and looked over at the Sannin.

"Do you think a month is enough time?" he asked.

"Probably not… But it's not what we'll be relying on if he needs to face the boy. There are alternatives to fighting a Biju. Besides, if the boy unleashes the beast during the exams, I have no doubt that old man Hiruzen will end the match."  
Kakashi's said nothing for a moment as he remembered how Gaara had nearly killed Sakura before Naruto had stepped in.

"I don't think that will stop the boy" Kakashi sighed.

Jiraiya nodded. "Let's just hope that doesn't happen… For now focus on Sasuke, because if he does get past the Hyuga he's fighting, he may face Gaara."

Kakashi nodded. '_I don't think there's any kind of preparation we could do for Sasuke to face down a tailed beast though…'_

* * *

As the sun rose over Konohagakure, Ino stalked through the streets. She had finally found out where Naruto Uzumaki lived in the village and she was intent on finding him and asking him out.

She had prepared herself to look as beautiful as possible. Her hair was not in its typical ponytail and she was letting it down. She wore just enough make up to make her look better than usual, but not so much that she looked cheap.

Otherwise she wore the same attire. She doubted that it would matter to the boy after all he did have a crush on Sakura at one time.

She noticed as she walked along that the neighborhood seemed to get… poorer.

Ino was becoming slightly hesitant as she had never been to this part of the village in the past, but she was a Shinobi and she doubted many would try anything. She did notice however, a few lecherous looks from the men and some women as she continued further in. The buildings seemed to become even worse in condition until she reached the address she had acquired from Iruka-sensei the day before.

She looked up at the building and shivered. It looked completely run down.

'_How can he live here?!'_ she wondered in disgust as it hit her that he was an orphan and had little money to his name.

She felt a momentary pang of guilt before she stepped into the building. She climbed the many flights until she got to the top of the building and found Naruto's door.

She took a deep breath before knocking three times.

She waited, feeling completely out of place standing in front of Naruto's apartment.

She frowned as there was no activity to be heard from the apartment. '_There's no way that he's not here…'_ she knocked again, louder this time.

Suddenly the door swung open and was face to face with the blonde prankster.

"Uh…" was his reaction.

For a moment, Ino was unsure what to say and awkwardly greeted him.

"Hey Naruto."

He stared at her for a full minute before speaking. "What do you want Ino?"

She was taken aback by Naruto's tone of voice. He seemed kind of irritated.

"W…well, I was just in the neighborhood and remembered that you lived nearby… So I figured I'd come see how you were doing" she said, mentally kicking herself for not being prepared with a better excuse.

Naruto stared at her suspiciously.

'_She was in _this_ neighborhood? What the fuck?'_ Naruto thought through narrowed eyes.

"C…can I come in?" she asked uneasily. She was very uncomfortable in the neighborhood and felt slightly dirty just standing there.

Naruto nodded and back away, beckoning her inside.

She walked in and immediately was analyzing the room.

'_He barely has anything… he's got a bed… a table… a plant?'_

Naruto closed the door and walked past her and opened his closet, grabbing his kunai holster.

Ino glanced at the closet and saw a cloak that looked familiar, but she didn't get a proper look as Naruto closed it quickly.

"I'm about to head out so what's going on?" he asked impatiently.

"Ah yeah, about that" Ino chuckled, she blushed slightly. She had not anticipated on this being so difficult. "Well I was wondering if you would mind going out with me sometime?" regaining some of her confidence as she asked.

Naruto stared at her again, this time much longer.

"Did you hit your head?" Naruto asked, his eyes mere slits as he was completely confused.

"No! Why?" Ino blurted.

"Do I really have to say? I mean, you and I have barely talked in the past, we don't really even like each other and you show up at my door and ask me out on a date?"

"Well I wouldn't say we don't like each other, we just don't know each other" Ino said blushing.

"No we don't like each other. Ever since we were eight you and Sakura were always yelling at me and insulting me… That isn't not knowing each other, that's not liking each other." He said bluntly.

Ino felt the urge to smack herself. '_He's got a point… How did I just get lectured by Naruto?'_

"I'm sure you just want to get on Sasuke's good side or something now that he and I are friends" Naruto continued. "Knowing him, that wouldn't do much. If you want to date him just ask him like a normal person like you did now. Don't latch onto him and dote all over him… He hates that stuff" Naruto sighed as he walked past her and picked up his sandals.

"He doesn't hate it" Ino said, completely forgetting why she was there. Sasuke was now the subject of the conversation.

Naruto sat on the edge of his bed as he put his sandals on.

"Then you really don't know Sasuke Uchiha… But back to the point, will I go out with you Ino? No."

He stood back up as Ino's jaw dropped. '_Did I just get rejected by Naruto Uzumaki?!'_

Naruto walked over to his small kitchen and pulled out an apple for himself.

"Why not?" Ino asked, a vein throbbing in her forehead. She was not happy at getting rejected. No one ever told her no.

Naruto laughed, loudly.

"To be honest, it's not that I don't want to, but I'm way to busy to go out on a date with you. I mean the Chunin Exams are coming up and I need to train so I can get promoted."

Naruto took a bite out of his apple and began chewing.

"What kind of training are you doing?" Ino asked, deciding to just try and get some information out of him at this point.

Naruto swallowed and sighed. "All kinds, is there anything else you need Ino?"

Ino pursed her lips. "Fine… No date… But how about we just hang out? I mean, it's not like you can have too many friends" she suggested.

Naruto stared at her as he took another bite of his apple.

'_I don't see the harm of maybe getting some ramen with her sometime…'_ he thought to himself as he watched her fidget.

'_What the hell? Naruto's never been like this before? Now he's just so… Sasuke like…'_ Ino thought nervously.

"Fine… Tomorrow, meet me at 5 at the main gates, we can go grab some ramen and… hang out or whatever…" Naruto said as he walked towards the front door.

"O..okay" Ino was surprised.

"Not a date though… This is a one time thing Ino, after that, I'm focusing on training for the exams."

Ino nodded as Naruto opened the front door. They both stood there in silence.

"Ino… You need to leave now… I've got places to go…" Naruto deadpanned.

"Oh! Yeah okay" she blushed at how stupid she was acting. She walked past Naruto and he closed the door behind him and locked it.

"I'll walk you out of this neighborhood and then I'll be on my way" Naruto said as he walked past her and started down the stairs.

Ino followed silently.

"So… You were passing through eh?" Naruto asked as they started through the streets. Ino noticed that the few people around seemed to retreat into hiding as Naruto walked along.

'_That's weird…'_ she thought.

"Ino?" Naruto called behind him.

"What was that?" she asked.

"You said you were passing through?" he asked.

Ino nodded. "Kinda… I was just taking a walk and have never been through this part of the village and figured that you lived here to."  
Naruto nodded. "Uh huh… Well at least it was during the day" he said. That sent shivers up Ino's spine. She wouldn't be caught dead in this neighborhood after dark.

"I suggest not coming back here" he said. "It's pretty sketchy, even for a shinobi."

Ino nodded, she would definitely not be returning.

The rest of the walk was silent between the two. Soon, they were in the shopping district.

Naruto stopped and turned to Ino.

"Well, I've gotta head out. My new sensei will kill me if I'm late. See you tomorrow Ino-chan." With that, Naruto jumped up and jumped roof to roof until he had disappeared.

Ino watched him leave before turning and walking away.

'_I got rejected by Naruto…. WHAT THE HELL?!'_

* * *

Jiraiya was waiting impatiently as Naruto walked into the clearing they had met.

"You're late… I hope you're not becoming like your sensei" Jiraiya said with a frown.

Naruto smiled at this and scratched the back of his head. "No you don't need to worry about that. I'm sorry, just this girl was…"

Jiraiya perked up at this. "Oh a girl!?" he exclaimed. "Well why didn't you say so? Is she cute? Is she older or younger? Are the two of going out?!" He seemed far to excited about this.

Naruto stared at his teacher for a moment, slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh… Nothing like that… I'd never date Ino Yamanaka! She's just… I don't know just it wouldn't happen… Ever. I mean… she did ask, but I'm so busy training so I told her no… besides, it would be a disaster!" Naruto began ranting.

Jiraiya smirked at him. "Well is she cute?"

"Well yeah" Naruto answered immediately.

Jiraiya burst up laughing. "So what's the problem?"

Naruto glared at the man comically. "She's one of those popular girls… They get annoying, she's all about gossip and needing to know everything."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Girls grow out of that pretty quickly when they're shinobi."

Naruto sighed. "Well she hasn't. We're just going to hang out and get some ramen, so it's not a date."

Jiraiya nodded. "Well if you need any advice, feel free to ask!"

Naruto nodded as he began to stretch. "So what do you want me to do today? More Rasengan training? Genjutsu, Taijutsu, or maybe another high level jutsu?"

Jiraiya waved him off. "Go train on the Rasengan until noon, I have some plans I need to get together for later."  
With that, he disappeared in a Shunshin, leaving Naruto in the clearing alone.

'_What does he have planned?'_ Naruto wondered as flexed his hand, prepared for the pain he would be experiencing later.

* * *

Jiraiya walked into Yamanaka flowers, seemingly looking around. He noticed that at the counter was a young blonde girl. He smiled as his thoughts drifted to Tsunade when she was that age.

'_Although this girl seems even cuter than Tsunade was at that age' _He thought as he spied some interesting colored flowers.

He rounded a corner and ran into a familiar face.

"Jiraiya-sama?" Inoichi exclaimed.

Jiraiya looked at the man. '_He's changed!'_ he realized. "Inoichi Yamanaka! Been a few years!"

Ino looked up from her magazine as she heard her father and the current customer talking. She noticed he was an older looking man, but was definitely a shinobi.

"What brings you to our flower shop?" Inoichi asked.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Was going to lay some flowers on Kushina's grave as well as Minato's."

Ino's ears perked up when she heard that name.

Inoichi frowned and began to whisper. "Be careful Jiraiya-sama… My daughter has begun looking into Naruto and found a file on Kushina…"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Kind of sloppy of Hiruzen to allow that to happen, how did she get that?"

Inoichi sighed. "The file was left in the shinobi archives. Granted when we gathered the files, the Kyubi attack was fairly recent, so I'm not surprised that we missed something… Plus have you been down there? It's so disorganized."

Jiraiya nodded at this. He never liked having to go down there for anything. To think that a shinobi village could be so disorganized.

"Why would she be looking into Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

Inoichi sighed. "She states it's because of the drastic change in him."

Jiraiya nodded. '_The girl sees a mystery to be solved…However, I very much doubt she'd be able to gather much information on him so it isn't a huge deal in my opinion.'_

"Well I don't see any trouble. She's just a Genin, not an enemy. I say let her have fun with her mystery. She won't find anything to link the two of them or the fox."

Inoichi nodded, knowing full well what he meant. "If you say so Jiraiya-sama… I trust your judgment on this."

Jiraiya laughed. "Besides, I'm training the boy, so there's no need to worry. I hear she and him may have a date tomorrow!"

Ino went bright red at this. The two men had been whispering up until this point. She had not told anyone other than Sakura of her plans to ask Naruto out.

Inoichi turned and shot Ino a dangerous look.

"Well… Actually no that's not right... From what I understand he rejected her and said he'd rather not. Something about he was focusing on training or something… I swear there's something wrong with that boy."

Inoichi smirked. '_I like this Naruto. He's got his priorities right!'_

Jiraiya shrugged. "Besides, he's going to be very strong by the time I'm done with him, can't have any… distractions, weighing him down."

Inoichi nodded. "I understand. Well Jiraiya-sama, it was a pleasure seeing you again. If you will excuse me, I need a word with my daughter."  
Jiraiya nodded. "I'll take my leave" and he left the store, a smirk on his face. '_That'll get her into gear. Naruto, you'll thank me later.'_

Inoichi locked the door behind Jiraiya and turned to face his daughter. She gulped.

'_Why did Naruto open his stupid mouth?!'_ she yelled mentally.

"So… You've started asking him out?" Inoichi asked darkly as he walked towards his daughter.

"W…well you see… He's kind of cute… I mean… for Naruto. I… Uh…" she didn't know what to say.

Inoichi towered over her.

"Aren't you a bit young to be trying to get a boyfriend?" Inoichi asked.

Ino took a deep breath, her teenage rebellion seemed to be starting at that exact moment.

"Dad, now that I'm a shinobi, I'm viewed as an adult! For heavens sake I can go to a bar now if I wanted! I don't think age matters when it comes to dating now!"

Inoichi stared at his daughter. She did have a point.

"Besides, I just wanted to go on a date with him, it doesn't mean we're a couple!" Ino took a step forward and Inoichi backed up, surprising himself.

"Besides, he said no to me… ME! So you don't have a reason to be mad! We're just gonna hang out because he doesn't have an interest in me!" A fire seemed to be burning in Ino's eyes that surprised Inoichi.

"I uh… I'm sorry Ino-chan?" Inoichi apologized, feeling completely confused. He didn't know how the tables had turned, but his little girl was right… Somehow.

Ino huffed. When she had gotten home, she was slightly upset that Naruto had said no to her. Now she was fuming. Naruto Uzumaki of ALL people said no to a date with her. That was just insulting.

Ino ground her teeth as she unlocked the door to the shop and walked behind the counter and shot a glare at her father.

He was frozen to the spot when it was thrown his way and he took it as a sign to leave. He quickly left the building and once outside, decided he needed a drink. '_She's definitely her mother's daughter…'_ Inoichi shivered.

Ino watched as her father walked away before beginning verbally screaming at no one.

"OF ALL THE PEOPLE! NARUTO!"

She began pacing back and forth. If anyone had walked in, they'd feel the wrath of Ino Yamanaka.

"I mean, I'm smart, I'm popular, I'm beautiful! Why the hell would he say no!?"

She realized that she didn't care about information anymore. No one says no to Ino. Not even the most unpredictable ninja.

She was going to win him over, it was a matter of pride at this point.

Suddenly the door slammed open, Kiba having just entered, a look of amusement on his face.

"You asked Naruto out?!" he laughed. "And he said no!?"

This was the breaking point for Ino. That old man that said he was training Naruto was spreading the news around town.

He would pay for that.

* * *

Hinata was sitting at her teams training spot when she saw Kiba finally arrive.

"Kiba-kun, where have you been?" she asked quietly. She was shocked when she saw that he was severally bruised and bleeding. He limped along, Akamaru trotting behind him happily.

"What happened?" Hinata exclaimed.

"…I uh… I fell…" Kiba said, heeding Ino's warning.

* * *

Sakura was worried about her friend. She had shown up at the hospital in a complete rage. Granted, she had heard the news of Ino being rejected by Naruto, and she knew that there was a storm coming.

Hurricane Ino had begun to form.

"Ino?" Sakura finally called to her blonde friend who was pacing back and forth.

"What?!" Ino snapped. Sakura withheld her anger, she was too tired to deal with being angry.

"It's just Naruto, it's going to be fine" Sakura tried soothing her.

"That's just it… It's just Naruto. He rejected my offer!" Ino nearly screeched.

Sakura sighed. Ino had been continually saying this ever since she had shown up. It was apparently all she could think of.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Sakura asked.

Ino stopped pacing. "I don't know… I've never had to deal with this… I need to find out why" she growled.

"So now you have more about Naruto to find out?" Sakura asked, slightly amused.

"Forget the other stuff!" Ino said suddenly. That mystery paled in comparison to this.

Sakura shook her head. "You're obsessing over Naruto… Naruto of all people Ino."

Ino stopped and stared at her friend. "Oh dear god you're right…" she realized as she sat down next to her. "I cannot believe this… How did this happen?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't know Ino… You just hate secrets… I guess that's all. Not you're fault."

Ino pursed her lips. "I should just be glad he said no then…" she mumbled.

Sakura nodded. "Besides, after you hang out with him tomorrow, you'll be done with him I'm sure."

* * *

Naruto winced in pain as he the incomplete Rasengan he was trying to create broke apart and sent him flying backwards into a tree painfully.

He fell to the ground, keeping his injured hand against his chest.

"You're getting closer" Jiraiya's voice rang out.

He turned to see Jiraiya offering him what looked like a Popsicle.

Naruto took it as it was quite a warm day.

Jiraiya had one for himself and they sat in silence enjoying their frozen treats.

"Well now. Instead of what I normally have in store for you, we're going to study a bit."

Naruto groaned internally but did not say a word.

"Today, we shall be studying tactics."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What kind of tactics? For facing multiple enemies? Or maybe when you're facing down a samurai?"

Jiraiya shook his head. No we will be studying the tactics of… a date!"

Naruto stared at the old man, trying to determine if this was all a joke. When he realized it wasn't, Naruto said, "I told you, it's not a date."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Just because you don't consider it a date, doesn't mean it couldn't turn into one."

Naruto groaned in frustration. The man just wouldn't quit.

"It's Ino Yamanaka… I'm way below her radar."

Jiraiya shook his head. "Well whether you are or aren't doesn't matter, this is an important lesson that I will be teaching you for the rest of the day today and part of tomorrow." Jiraiya said it with a tone of finality, leaving Naruto with no choice but to agree with the man. After all, the man had taught him so much in such a short amount of time without asking for anything in return.

* * *

The time for 'hanging out' was at hand. Ino had felt confident as she left the house and reached the main gate. However, as 5 drew nearer and nearer, she felt increasingly more nervous. Something about Naruto had thrown her off, she did not know what to expect from the boy any more.

As she stood there, she spotted Naruto approaching her. She noticed that he was clutching his left hand, as if he had injured it.

"How's it going?" Naruto asked her.

"Can't complain" Ino said, staring at his injured hand. "What happened?" she asked.

"Learning a new jutsu… It's a painful process" Naruto shrugged.

"What kind of jutsu?" Ino asked.

Naruto smirked. "You'll have to wait to see it in the exams."

Ino huffed at that. '_Again with the secrets…'_

"So I'm starving!" Naruto declared loudly, some of his previous self leaking through. "Let's get going!" He turned around and began marching towards the only restaurant that he frequented.

Ino followed him down the road. "So how is training coming along?" Ino finally asked.

"Pretty good! I've got this crazy strong new sensei and he's putting me through the ringer. He's having me relearn Taijutsu and teaching some strong jutsu!"

Ino frowned when she heard about his new sensei.

"So why'd you tell you're sensei about me asking you out?" she asked, her anger seeming to return.

Naruto stopped and looked at her. "He told you!?" he yelled. '_DAMMIT!'_

Ino glared at the blonde. "He's told everyone in the village you idiot!"

Naruto ground his teeth. "Idiot?" he asked.

Ino smacked her self. '_Dammit… That slipped…'_

"Sorry… just… Everyone knows that you of all people rejected me" Ino pouted.

"Me of all people?" Naruto repeated, his stare narrowing.

Ino felt like punching herself. She was making the situation worse.

"Sorry Naruto… I just… God why is this happening…" she sighed.

Naruto's glare softened.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"Don't yell at a girl Naruto, no matter what she says" Jiraiya lectured.

Naruto laughed at that part.

"Naruto, I'm serious. If she's being… well a bitch, just work past it. I know that's not very like you, but you need to learn to control that temper of yours."

He remembered all of his arguments with Sakura over small insults and had the decency to feel slightly embarrassed.

Jiraiya nodded. "So that's that… Now on to the next subject… Kissing."

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

Sighing, Naruto took his new teacher's advice.

"So how's your training?" he interrupted her ranting.

Ino stopped babbling and stared at Naruto. "T…training?"

Naruto glanced at her as they arrived at Ichiraku's.

"Yeah, for the Chunin Exams. I mean Sasuke and I are training because there's some stiff competition. Like Lee, Neji and Gaara."  
Ino was at a loss for words. She had totally forgotten about training.

"I… I haven't started…"

Naruto sat down, giving Ino an odd look.

"Ah Naruto! Who's the beautiful girl?" Teuchi asked as Ino sat next to Naruto.

"Hey! This is uh… a friend?" he looked at Ino in a questioning manner.

Ino nodded. "Yeah just a friend."

Teuchi grinned. "Well what will it be young lady?"

Ino had never been to a ramen restaurant and had to give the menu a once over.

"I guess the pork ramen?" she seemed confused but Teuchi nodded. "A good choice Yamanaka-san!"

Ino raised an eyebrow at this. Teuchi turned and began making the ramen. "I knew your father. He and his teammates come by occasionally. It's a bit of a hot spot for great shinobi."

Naruto nodded. "So Ino, why aren't you training?"

Ino shrugged. "I guess I just never got around to it. Plus Shikamaru and Choji are training with their parents for the exams."

"So you only train if it's with your team?" Naruto asked.

"Well doesn't everyone train with their team?" Ino countered.

Naruto shook his head. "Everyone has been so astounded with how much stronger I've gotten, but it's not some secret to how I've gotten stronger, I've just been training whenever I can. It just takes hard work and determination. Like Lee. He's stronger than both Sasuke and I and that's because even when he's not with his team, he's training. He's always striving to be the best shinobi that he can be."

Ino seemed surprised by this as Naruto explained.

"I know that you just asked me out on a date, not because you like me in that way, but because you hate secrets. You thought I had something worth hiding and when you saw how much stronger I was, it intrigued you… But the truth is, I just wanted to get stronger to realize my dream. That and I've never known my parents, but if I had the chance to ever meet them, I'd want to them to be proud of me."  
This tug at Ino's heart as she knew that his mother was not currently amongst the living.

'_Should I tell him? I mean, he does have a right to know about his own mother… But it wouldn't be right coming from me, it's like he said, we don't like each other.'_ She debated with herself as Naruto continued and arrived at the conclusion to not say anything to him about it… For now.

"Do you think you can face down your opponent?" Naruto asked as he was handed a bowl of ramen.

'_He didn't place an order… I wonder if he comes here so much that they know what he usually orders.'_ She thought to herself. "Well it's just Hinata Hyuga. She wasn't superb in the academy."

Naruto snorted. "And I was dead last, how long do you think you'd last against me?"

Ino pursed her lips. The boy had a valid point.

"I know Kiba did kick his training up a notch" Ino muttered. I heard his sister Hana talking to their mother's dog about it during some 'D' ranked mission" Ino muttered.

Naruto grinned. "What got Kiba's ass into gear?"

Ino was handed her bowl of pork ramen, grabbing a pair of chopsticks she relayed what she had heard.

"I guess him and his team went on a mission and ran into some swordsman that kicked their asses… Some mist ninja with a giant sword."

Naruto choked on his noodles as he recognized the brief description.

"Z..Zabuza?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That was the name!" Ino realized. "How did you know?"

Naruto wiped broth off of his face. "Yeah… My team and I fought him and his apprentice… Got the shit kicked out of us." Naruto mumbled as he remembered Haku, and briefly killing Gato. Then he realized something. Thinking about Gato didn't rack him with guilt. He smiled briefly. He was beginning to feel more and more like a shinobi.

"So what happened?" she asked. Of course she had read the file on the mission now that she thought about it, however names had been redacted as had the details about the end of the mission and how it was completed.

"Haku kicked our asses, but Kakashi was kicking Zabuza's ass, then Haku got involved and ended up dead…" At Ino's confused look Naruto clarified. "Haku was the guy's apprentice. He was about our age."  
Ino nodded as she listened. She was betting this was the mission that Naruto had made his first kill.

"At that point, it looked like Kakashi was going to finish Zabuza off, but then the guy that hired him showed up… Told Zabuza the deal was off and then…" Naruto stopped as he remembered what he had told Haku and what the boy had told him.

This was something that he couldn't share with Ino.

"…I flew into a rage and… I killed Gato and some of his men… In the end, we buried Haku and Zabuza left." Naruto concluded.

Ino had noticed that he had skipped some parts at how he had paused and thought for a moment.

There was a low whistle from Teuchi. "Wow Naruto… After hearing that, the ramen is on the house."

Naruto smiled gratefully to the old man. "So I'm just surprised that Kiba's team ran into him. I thought I'd never hear about him again."

Ino nodded. "Wow… Small world, huh?"

Naruto chuckled as he proceeded to eat more ramen.

Ino silently ate her noodles, thinking over his story.

Naruto chuckled. "It's funny, it was that mission that showed me how much stronger I could get… Guess the same happened for Kiba when he ran into Zabuza."

Ino nodded. "Do you think that Hinata is training then?"

Naruto nodded. "She's a Hyuga… I'm sure that her clan has been teaching her a lot since she graduated. I would be surprised if she didn't become a Chunin." Naruto said as he picked out a fishcake in his ramen, causing him and Ino to smile.

"I think I can manage without training though" Ino said, brushing some hair out of her face.

Naruto chuckled.

"What? Don't believe me?" Ino asked angrily.

Naruto was gazing at his ramen, wondering how to ask this.

"What happens if you end up fighting Sasuke? Will you be ready then? Or what about that Gaara, or even Rock Lee? I know for a fact Lee is stronger than Sasuke." He set his chopsticks down and picked up his ramen bowl. All that was left in it was broth.

He began to guzzle it down as Ino stared at him, pondering his question.

Naruto placed the drained bowl, smacking his lips in satisfaction.

"Will you forfeit?" Naruto asked.

"No!" Ino snapped.

"Then how will you win against Sasuke if you have to fight him?" Naruto turned and stared into Ino's eyes, startling her. In his eyes, she could see the fire of determination.

"If you are pitted against Sasuke Uchiha, he will take you down so fast… Granted compared to Sakura, you'd last a lot longer, but Sasuke won't care that you were in the same class as he was. He'll come at you without hesitation."

"How do you know?" Ino asked, turning around, feeling her frustration building.

"Because I've fought him… Sakura has spared him, our teacher has fought him. Every time he doesn't hold back. He wants to be a Shinobi more than he wants to be a friend, and that's why I respect the bastard." Naruto said as he stood up.

Ino gawked at him for a moment. She didn't want to admit it, but Naruto was right. In the academy, anyone that went up against Sasuke in a spar was taken down quickly with no remorse. Everyone in that class had known this first hand.

"I…I'd lose…" Ino finally said. Naruto offered her his hand. "Come on. I want to show you something my sensei showed us when we first met him."

Ino stared at his extended hand, blushing slightly. '_Oh god… Please don't say he wants to hold hands…'_

Naruto could tell what she was thinking. "I'm just helping you out of your seat… I'm trying to be polite."

Ino was impressed. He had never treated girls this way in the past, but he had clearly learned how to treat a lady appropriately.

She took his hand, face going slightly red as he helped her out of the chair.

"Thanks again Teuchi!" Naruto called.

Teuchi smiled as Naruto let go of the girls hand and led her away from the stand. '_That boy is becoming quite the ladies man… Jiraiya would be proud.'_

* * *

On the roof over looking the ramen stand, Jiraiya sat, his telescope glued to his eye.

"There we go kid… Do what I told you… But where the hell are you taking her?"

* * *

Naruto and Ino arrived at the spot Team seven had the bell test so many months ago. He smiled, thinking about how close he and Sasuke had gotten, and how teamwork had been the answer to passing.

He led her to the large memorial stone.

"This is what helped convince me when we met Kakashi-sensei… This stone has the names of every Shinobi that died in the line of duty… They are all heroes and will forever be honored here."  
Ino's eyes widened. She had heard of the memorial stone from her father many times, but had not seen it until now.

"I did some research, and most Shinobi that die, end up on this memorial… Because most of us will die out on a mission. My goal, besides becoming Hokage, is to ensure that my teammates don't end up having their names written here. The only way for that to happen is if I'm strong enough to protect and support them…"  
He looked at Ino. "I'm sure you wouldn't want Shikamaru or Choji's names to end up here… That's why I've been training so hard, why I want to become a Chunin. This is how I know I'm on the right path."  
Ino nodded, the thought of it made her think about being a shinobi. She was always raised believing that becoming a ninja would simply just happen, but now she was realizing that wasn't the case.

"My own parents have their names on here…" Naruto mumbled absentmindedly.

Ino's head snapped around and gawked at the boy.

'_He knows who his parents are?!'_

Naruto realized what he had said, but didn't care. Ino wasn't someone he knew well, but she needed to realize what was required of a shinobi before something happened to her before what happened to Sakura happened to her.

Naruto sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to get intense like that Ino-chan… I just get really passionate about being a shinobi."

Sighing he turned around. "I hate to cut this short, but I've gotta get going, I've got training in the morning, but I'll see you around?" Naruto asked, a big smile plastered on his face.

Ino stared at the blonde, bewildered at how much he had changed.

"We should hang out again!" she declared.

Naruto was shocked at this outburst but smiled. "How about after the Chunin exams? I've got a lot of training to do."

Ino nodded. "I do too." This caused Naruto's smile to widen. "Who knows, maybe we'll fight each other!" Naruto said happily.

Ino smirked. "I'll kick your ass Uzumaki!" she declared, pointing at him.

Naruto nodded. "You can try, but remember, I'm a future Hokage! There's no way you can defeat me!" With that said, Naruto turned and began to walk away, leaving a grinning Ino. '_He's a completely different person… He's becoming kinda cool.'_

* * *

Jiraiya sat in the tree not far from the memorial stone, tears comically falling from his eyes.

"Th…that was beautiful kid…" he sobbed.

* * *

Inoichi walked in the front door, his head spinning from the drinking session he had with Chouza and Shikaku.

'_Oh god… I cannot keep up with that Akamichi… Shikaku had the right idea not challenging him…'_ He stumbled through his living room when he nearly ran into his daughter.

"Oh hey Ino-chan" her father slurred.

"Hey… dad… Uh, can I ask you something?"

Inoichi tried nodding but fell backwards onto the couch.

"Can you help train me for the Chunin exams?" she asked.

"…..I think I'm hallucinating…" Inoichi mumbled as his eyes began to close.

"DAD!" Ino yelled. Inoichi jolted up.

"I'm serious daddy… Help train me for the exams."

Inoichi shook his head. "Uh… yeah Ino-chan… Daddy just needs to sleep this off…" Inoichi said as he began to doze off.

Ino huffed. She was going to make sure her father got in trouble when her mom woke up in the morning.

* * *

Jiraiya clapped as Naruto walked into the clearing.

"Well done kid, a successful date!" Jiraiya declared proudly.

Naruto went red. "You were watching!?"

Jiraiya gave him a thumbs up. "I thought it was little odd taking her to the memorial stone, but I think you really helped that girl realize what being a shinobi really meant."

Naruto smiled. He had hoped he had helped Ino realize what Kakashi had helped him realize.

"But did you have to mention your parents?" Jiraiya asked, his tone turning serious.

Naruto frowned. "I didn't say who they were… Just that their names were on the memorial stone…"

Jiraiya nodded. "Even so tread carefully, even the slightest slip up could have grave consequences."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah… sorry Jiraiya-sensei…"

The man shrugged. "Now then… Instead trying to master the Rasengan, I want to try something else today. Something that may save your life in the exams if you face that Gaara kid."

Naruto's eyebrow shot up.

Jiraiya sat down and motioned for the boy to do the same.

"Surely you have suspected he's not an ordinary Genin" Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded. "But how do you know about him?"

Jiraiya grinned. "It's my job to know things. But haven't you sensed it?"

Naruto sat and thought about the times that he had encountered the boy.

"He seems familiar…" Naruto muttered.

"That's because he's a Jinchuriki, just like you." Naruto's eyes widened at this. The boy that had nearly killed his teammate, was like him.

"I'm sure you can realize why he is the way he is" Jiraiya began, looking to the sky. "His father, the Yondaime Kazekage, sealed the Ichibi within him to try and create a weapon."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "His father sealed it in willingly!?" Naruto exclaimed.

Jiraiya nodded. "Like you, he was ostracized by his village, his own father rejecting him as a failure, not being the weapon he had hoped for."  
"How do you know all of this though? I mean, my status as a Jinchuriki is a secret" Naruto wondered.

"The Sandaime Hokage hid your secret hoping you'd live a normal childhood, the Kazekage did not care about his child having a childhood, all he wanted was a weapon… All of that isolation, no love in his life, has turned him into what you see today."

Naruto glanced at his stomach. "So does he have control of it?" Naruto finally asked.

Jiraiya sighed. "I'm not sure, but we should assume that he does… Which is why I'm going to teach you a jutsu that only you can use."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this.

"What do you know about Fuinjutsu?" Jiraiya asked, a grin playing at his face.

* * *

Sasuke dropped to the ground, panting heavily as Kakashi stood over him.

"I'm surprised at how quickly you got the hang of the Chidori" Kakashi said, his masked face expressionless, however you could hear a tinge of pride in his voice.

Sasuke glanced at his sensei. "So what's next?"

Kakashi was surprised at Sasuke's question. "You're up for more?"

Sasuke nodded as he tried to get up but fell back down from exhaustion.

"Yeah… What else can you teach me?" Sasuke panted.

Kakashi opened his orange book, which had disappeared for a majority of Sasuke's training.

"Why are you pushing yourself this hard? You never used to."

Sasuke stared up at Kakashi, thinking of what used to drive him to become strong. Itachi. But now, it was something different. Naruto had caught up to him so quickly it had surprised everyone, and Sasuke was sure that if he didn't double his efforts, Naruto would leave him in the dust. He wasn't doing it for revenge at this point, though he was still certain that he would kill his brother, but he wanted to prove himself against Naruto, to grow with him.

Naruto was his friend, his only friend.

Kakashi noticed his silence and decided to guess.

"Is it to do with Naruto?" he asked.

Sasuke did not acknowledge him, but Kakashi could tell that was what he was thinking.

Kakashi snapped the book shut and nodded. "Well, there are a few things I could teach you as we're very far ahead of schedule with the Chidori…"  
Sasuke grinned. '_Naruto… I hope you've learned some new tricks for the exams… When I fight you, I won't be holding back.'_

* * *

Ino struggled to her feet, her nose bleeding profusely.

"Ino-chan, we should stop…" Inoichi sighed.

"No daddy… I need to get stronger" she said, wiping her face with her arm.

It had been three days since Ino had woken her father up after a night of drinking telling him to train her like he had promised. Inoichi had no recollection of such a promise, but he had been black out drunk the night before.

Ever since they had started, he was surprised by how she had thrown herself into her training with not only their family jutsu, but some Taijutsu training that she had requested.

When questioned about it, she had given a very convincing argument.

"If I have to fight someone who prefers close combat, I'll be a sitting duck with what I have now" she had declared loudly.

Ever since, she had been taking up Inoichi's time so much that he had to clear it with the Hokage and Ibiki to take time off to help train her. The Hokage was more than happy to do so, but of course Ibiki wasn't thrilled, but he understood.

Ino struck up a Taijutsu pose again, and faced down her father.

"Let's keep going" she said fiercely.

Inoichi regarded his daughter for a moment before speaking.

"Ino, what brought this on? It was like overnight, you went from a girl who content with the abilities she had, to a girl that strove for more… Not that it's a bad thing!" Inoichi put his hands up in defense.

Ino sighed as she dropped her pose. "It was Naruto… That night we went to get food…"

Inoichi frowned. He didn't like that she had basically gone on a date with the boy, even if she said it wasn't a date.

"He was telling me why he's been training so much… Why he's striving to be a great Shinobi… He took me to the memorial stone and told me about what it represents…"

Ino said, a somber look on her face.

Inoichi was surprised at this. The Jinchuriki of the hidden leaf village, the pariah that many tried to avoid or abuse, seemed to be much wiser than most Chunin. He knew of what it took to be a shinobi and the dedication that it took. Ino explained everything that she had heard from the boy, including the mission to wave.

'_Zabuza Momochi…'_ Inoichi thought as his description came up. '_To think they survived a bout against one of the seven swordsman of the mist was impressive.'_

"So that's why I need to start training… As dumb as it sounds, I'm jealous at the resolve that dobe has… The dead last of the academy is on his way to becoming a great Shinobi…"

She sounded slightly depressed at that point.

Inoichi nodded. "Very well… At least now I know Ino-chan. Well, let's keep it up then, I'll try to get you ready for the exams, but I can't make any promises."

Ino nodded. She knew that it was up to her to become stronger, Naruto had made that part clear.

* * *

Temari walked into Gaara's room.

"The Chunin exams begin tomorrow Temari" Gaara said as he stared at a blank wall.

Temari nodded. "I understand what I need to do… No holding back, attack to kill…"  
Gaara nodded. "If he truly is a Jinchuriki as I am, he will be unharmed… You will die…"  
Temari was about to speak when Gaara glanced at her, shutting her up.

"If you do not aim to kill, I will kill you myself… Slowly, and painfully…" Gaara said, his bloodlust filling the room.

Temari flinched. "Y…yes brother… I will aim to kill him… No holding back…"  
Gaara looked back to the wall. "I could care less about the war Temari… I just want to kill him… Naruto Uzumaki…"

He felt something stir within him, the Ichibi was getting anxious at the mere mention of Naruto.

* * *

The Hokage sat at his desk, surrounded by his ANBU and the Jonin that were currently in the village.

"I have gathered you all here, to make sure that we are all prepared for the worst scenario." Sarutobi said to those assembled.

"This Chunin Exam will be unique for multiple reasons. The Yondaime Kazekage will be here to watch the exams and his two participating children."

The Jonin and ANBU all stayed silent as they listened to their leader.

"In addition, it has come to my attention courtesy of Jiraiya, that the boy Gaara no Subaka, the son of the Kazekage, is more than likely a Jinchuriki…" The Jonin stayed silent, but you could see a few of them shift uncomfortably.

"And as everywhere in here is aware, there is a high probability that he may end up fighting Gaara… If it is to happen, we must be prepared fr the possibility of either or even the both of them, to use their Biju in battle."

A murmur ran through Jonin at this point.

"Jiraiya has informed me that it is doubtful that Naruto will access the Kyubi's chakra, but we must be prepared. If this does happen, steer clear of the boy and let Jiraiya handle him. Understood?"

"Yes!" The Jonin and ANBU all spoke at once.

"Good… Now of course, be on the look out for anything else as well, with two Kage together, you never know if someone may try something, so be careful tomorrow!" He dismissed his forces and they quickly exited his office, leaving him alone.

Jiraiya suddenly appeared before the old man.

"Jiraiya-kun" The Sandaime said with a smile. "I take it you and Naruto are finished?"

Jiraiya yawned and scratched the back of his head.

"We just finished actually."

The Sandaime stood up, his back cracking from sitting in his chair all day.

"So… May I ask what you've taught him?" The Sandaime inquired.

Jiraiya grinned. "Oh I'm not telling you that old man, that's a surprise. You'll have to wait just like everyone else, even Kakashi doesn't know."

The Sandaime frowned. "I hope that there wasn't any Kinjutsu involved" he said.

Jiraiya shrugged. "You can't intimidate me Sarutobi-sensei, but no, no Kinjutsu was taught to him."

Hiruzen nodded. "Good to hear Jiraiya."

Jiraiya smiled as he imagined what the Hokage's reaction would be to the jutsu Naruto now knew.

It was going to be fun.

* * *

_**Well there is Chapter 10, a little shorter than usual, but I didn't want to start the fights this chapter, that will be next. More Naruto/Ino moments will happen during and after the exams.**_

_**Naruto and Sasuke are progressing further in their training in this than they did in Canon so they are stronger than they were.**_

_**And yes, there is the reason for Kiba being stronger and yes, Hinata and Shino are stronger for it as well. The Rookie 9 are stronger than in Canon, as is Rock Lee. After all, he was never injured and he's been training the whole month as well.**_

_**As for the match ups for the exam, **_

_**Here are what have been revealed thus far.**_

_**Temari VS Naruto**_

_**Ino VS Hinata**_

_**Sasuke VS Neji (well i didn't out right say it, but there are only two Hyuga in the exam)**_

_**THat leaves Rock Lee, SHikamaru and Choji. Yes, there is an odd number of participants but it works out.**_

_**You'll see.**_

_**Anyways, please review, follow, favorite, all that Jazz. And the next chapter is in progress, I'm very excited for this part and I hope you are as well. I have some fun stuff planned.**_

_**Until the next chapter (which will be coming to you sometime this March)**_

_**So again, Review, review, review!**_

_**Zukara**_


	11. New Techniques, Same Routine

_**Well then, here is Chapter 11. **_

_**By the way, happy hang over day (day after st patties.)**_

_**And also, I am aware I forgot to mention both Gaara, and Shino who are also in the exams. Still makes it uneven, either way I apologize for the accidental omission.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**_

* * *

_**Chapter 11**_

_**New Techniques, Same Routine**_

* * *

The sun rose over the village. Anticipation was in the air, in fact, it seemed palpable.

All anyone could talk about was the exams. Bets had been placed, and were still being placed. The Uchiha, Gaara and the Kyubi container were at the top of the list for the bets.

Especially after watching the preliminaries that had been taped for this purpose.

The excitement increased when the Kazekage's caravan arrived, bringing with it half a dozen Jonin from the sand village as well as the puppet user Kankuro who had lost to the Uzumaki.

The stadium the exams were being held in was slowly filling up early.

The Sandaime watched everything from the top of the Hokage tower.

He watched as the Kazekage's caravan was paraded towards the stadium.

He exhaled a stream of smoke as sensed his student behind him

"Hello again Jiraiya-kun" the Sandaime sighed.

"I take it you don't seem excited for the exams?" Jiraiya asked a smirk on his face.

The elder Kage glanced at the man. "With the possibility of a war looming over us, I can easily tell you I am not."

Jiraiya huffed at this. "But Naruto is participating, and I can assure you it's going to be a spectacle."

The Sandaime smirked at this. "Anything involving that boy is a spectacle. You weren't here to witness a good majority of his pranks during his academy years."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this. "Pranks eh? What did he do?"

Hiruzen turned and looked at the Hokage monument. "Let's just say that he made some additions to the village a few times."

Jiraiya looked at the monument and back to his sensei. "Oh my god you're kidding! HAHAAHAHAH!" Jiraiya laughed heartily at this, imagining what the monument had looked like when the blonde had been finished.

"Of course that was simply one instance" The Hokage said, puffing on his pipe.

Jiraiya shook his head, still laughing lightly.

They continued to stare up at the monument before the Hokage spoke.

"So… How is Naruto going to make this a spectacle?"

Jiraiya grinned. "That is for me to know, and you to find out."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not amused.

* * *

Ino walked to the stadium beside her father, feeling nerves set in. The Hokage had mentioned that they would be fighting in front of the public, but she hadn't expected so many to turn up for the fights.

Inoichi noticed his daughter's shift in attitude as they progressed through the streets.

"It'll be fine sweetie, just focus on defeating your opponent."

Ino nodded, trying to not vomit at the moment as he stomach churned at the thought of all those people watching her and judging her.

As they entered the stadium, they were approached by two Jonin, Hayate, and another that introduced himself as Genma. He seemed to be chewing on a senbon for some reason.

They guided her away from the crowd and into the middle of the coliseum where a few of the competitors were waiting.

She stood beside Shikamaru who was there as well as Choji. They both smiled to her, but otherwise stayed quiet, which Ino appreciated.

She glanced down the line and saw that Rock Lee, Gaara, and Neji were also in attendance. Shino, Temari, Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto were all missing so far.

Ino looked up at the Kage box and saw that the Kazekage was seated beside the Hokage. The two men seemed to be conversing.

She swallowed the lump she felt in her throat, she didn't realize just how daunting this was going to be.

She heard some more people approaching and saw Shino and Hinata being led towards the group of Genin.

Hinata seemed nervous as well, poking her index fingers together.

'_Even if she does seem timid, I'm sure her father trained her to ensure she had a fighting chance. Plus she did kick ass during the preliminaries…'_ Ino felt her mood plummet as her chances of victory seemed bleaker.

* * *

Iruka looked out the window of the classroom he was currently teaching. '_I hope you do well Naruto… You've come such a long way…'_

Konohamaru grinned. "Hey Sensei?"

Iruka looked over at the young boy. He was very similar to Naruto in his academy days.

"What is it Konohamaru?"

The boy stood up as he was addressed. "I was wondering, could we watch the Chunin Exams? It would be a great experience for us to see what they are like for when we graduate and what kind of shinobi we could face in the exams when it's our time."

Iruka stared at the boy, surprised at how much of a point he had.

Konohamaru had of course, been practicing this speech for the past month when he had over heard some Chunin talking about the fight between Naruto and Temari.

He wanted to support his rival in his efforts to become a Chunin.

A few of the students in the class also voiced their opinion on watching the exams.

"Well… They are televised…" Iruka mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

Konohamaru grinned, this was in the bag.

* * *

Sakura sat in her bed at the hospital, sad that she could not support her teammates or her friend at the stadium.

However, the nurses had helped set up a TV in her room so that she could cheer them on from the comfort of the bed.

Sighing she watched as the screen was filled with only static. They would not start broadcasting until all of the participants had arrived.

She glanced out the window, wondering about her teammates. They had not bothered with visiting her since she had arrived, however Ino had come by every other day as she was busy with her training.

'_I hope they're strong enough to finish…'_ she thought sadly. She thought of Naruto's goofy smile, and Sasuke's grin. Surely they had just been training so much that they had no time to visit, however she still came to the conclusion that neither of them cared enough to visit her.

Suddenly, the TV's static disappeared and was replaced with a view of the stadium crowd. She shifted slightly and glued her eyes to the screen.

"Naruto…Sasuke… how far have you come?" she whispered to nothing.

* * *

Everyone kept glancing at the young Uzumaki and Sasuke who had arrived both in a Shunshin at opposite ends of the Genin row.

Sasuke's outfit had changed and was now a black outfit, shorts, short sleeves, and the Uchiha crest on the back. Belts and wrappings surrounded his arm and his hair was much longer. He seemed to also stand a bit taller and had an air of confidence about him that he had always had.

Then there was Naruto. He wore black pants and a mesh shirt. What was the big change was the brown leather jacket he was sporting with an orange stripe down the left sleeve.

On his legs were two kunai holsters.

Ino blushed as she checked out the two boys.

'_Oh god… They're both hot…_' Ino thought to herself.

Naruto stood listening to the proctors explain the rules of the exams which were basically the same as the preliminaries.

Naruto shifted his weight and glanced at his opponent who was giving him a death glare.

'_This Temari chick seems pretty pissed at me… Wonder if that puppet guy was her boyfriend or something'_ he wondered.

"Now then, for the first match… Choji Akimichi VS Rock Lee!" Genma announced.

Naruto was confused as they were ushered up into the stadium. '_They changed the order of the matches?'_

They walked into a large hallway and were escorted up to the stands where a few of their friends were waiting as well as their sensei's.

Kakashi nodded to Naruto and Sasuke who went and stood next to him.

"You seem stronger Naruto" Kakashi commented. Naruto grinned. "You have no idea."  
Sasuke chuckled. "Naruto, be sure to win your matches, I want to fight you in the end."

Naruto nodded. "Try to save as much energy as you can Sasuke, cause it's not going to be like it was before."

Naruto's hand balled into a fist, eager for the coming fights.

Kakashi was eyeing the boy with interest.

'_Something about him does seem different, but I can't place my finger on it… He's not bluffing though… He's much stronger. What did Jiraiya do to you? I'm sure you could defeat Sasuke at this point and I put him through hell…'_

* * *

Ino sat beside her father who gave her a quick hug. "Don't worry about it Ino, just do the best you can. It's as they explained earlier, even if you lose your match, if you impress them, you can become a Chunin."

Ino nodded and glanced at Naruto and Sasuke who were both talking to each other, smiles on their faces.

'_They seem so certain of themselves… They must have gone through some intense training…'_ Ino thought to herself glumly.

Inoichi saw who she was staring at and sighed. "Ino, you cannot compare yourself to those two. They have been training for months for this, it is only natural that they are the way they are."  
Ino nodded, not feeling any better. Then Naruto glanced at her and their eyes met. She looked away quickly, blushing. He looked really good in the dark colors.

* * *

"So what's up with Ino?" Sasuke asked, grinning.

Naruto chuckled. "Nothing… Just hung out once, got her to pull her head out of her ass."  
Sasuke shook his head. "Happen to tell her not to grab onto me anymore?"

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry, I did. Hopefully she trusts that I'm right."

Kakashi chuckled. '_They truly don't know how women work…'_

* * *

Rock Lee struck his Taijutsu pose as Choji began yelling at the top of his lungs.

"BARBEQUE!"

Lee had to suddenly jump out of the way as Choji had used his expansion Jutsu and human boulder technique in quick succession.

Rock Lee spun around and jumped over another strike.

"Unfortunately for you Choji-san, I cannot be bested by this one tactic!" Lee declared. He charged forward and began to strike at the spinning boy when Choji suddenly stopped. Lee's arm seemed to be swallowed by the enlarged boys gut and bounced back out. Choji grunted as he suddenly shrunk back down to size and promptly vomited in front of Lee.

Without missing a beat, Lee spun around and struck the boy in the face with his heel, sending the pleasingly plump boy bouncing into a wall and into blissful unconsciousness.

The crowd began booing as Genma walked onto the field, announcing that Lee was the winner.

Asuma Sarutobi choked on the smoke from his cigarette when Choji was knocked out so effectively.

'_I thought that his training would have made him more of a match… Well, you did try your best against Lee, so I'll still treat you to Barbeque…'_

He glanced at Shikamaru who seemed uninterested in what was happening.

"Try not to be too upset about Choji being beaten" Asuma said with a grin on his face.

Shikamaru grunted. "I knew that he wasn't going to be much of a match for Lee, I'm just glad he didn't have to fight that Gaara kid… Or even that Temari. She looks like she's ready to kill Naruto." Asuma glanced over at the two sand Genin and frowned. She definitely was glaring at the blonde boy and given how her teammate had nearly killed Naruto's teammate, he was betting their fight was going to be an ugly one.

* * *

Genma walked out onto the field. "Next up, Ino Yamanaka VS Hinata Hyuga."

Naruto leaned forward at this. "This fight should be interesting."

Sasuke nearly laughed at this. "I doubt that." Naruto shook his head. There was something about both of the girls that he couldn't explain. Hinata had always been shy in the academy, but was always nice to the blonde, even if she could barely speak around him. He still found that fact odd, but he wasn't one to judge. Plus, she was a Hyuga, and he'd read about their Taijutsu and how it was all based on sealing a persons Tenketsu.

Then there was Ino Yamanaka. The loudest and rudest person in the academy aside from himself.

But after their last talk, he was hoping she was going to start showing some potential to become an actual Shinobi. Plus, she was fairly cute. Naruto shook his head, embarrassed that he thought that about Ino of all people.

Ino and Hinata both reached the middle of the stadium and Naruto had to suppress a laugh when Ino's eyes darted around nervously.

'_She's just like Hinata'_ Naruto chuckled at this thought.

Puffing up his chest, he quickly yelled at the top of his voice, "GO FOR IT YOU TWO! DO YOUR BEST!"

Sasuke looked at him, annoyed at the fact that his eardrum was nearly ruptured.

Hinata seemed to straighten up at this as did Ino.

Inoichi noticed this and glanced up at the blonde boy.

'_Interesting… just like his parents…'_ He thought.

Naruto leaned forward, wanting to see the fight before him.

"Begin" Genma said as he jumped away.

Hinata struck her Taijutsu pose, her Byakugan activating.

Naruto smiled at this. '_So this is the Hyuga's Taijutsu?'_

Ino withdrew a kunai and hurled it at the girl who merely caught it in midair.

Ino was surprised at how quickly the Hyuga had reacted.

The girl shot forward at the blonde and aimed for her shoulder. Ino managed to jump out of the way, throwing a volley of Shuriken.

Hinata rolled out of the way and jumped to her feet.

Twirling in the air, Ino went through the hand seals.

"**Suiton: Teppōdama**" Ino spat out a water bullet at Hinata. Grinning, she was sure that she had gotten the Hyuga with this technique, when she noticed the girl began to spin. Suddenly, a dome of chakra was rotating around Hinata and the water jutsu hit and quickly dispersed.

Ino landed and withdrew a kunai. '_What the hell was that?'_

Hinata stopped the technique and was facing the blonde.

"I… I am sorry Ino… But I have to win…" Hinata stuttered, looking sincerely apologetic.

* * *

Kakashi was surprised at the small girls technique. '_Hiashi must have really pushed her to learn that technique… Last I heard she wasn't much stronger than Yamanaka…'_

Naruto grinned. "Like I said, pretty interesting fight."

Sasuke nodded. '_I wonder if my opponent will use the same technique?'_ He narrowed his eyes, hoping to find out more about the technique.

* * *

Ino ran through the signs for her family technique while Hinata charged forward.

'_Need to do this quickly!'_ She landed on the last seal just as Hinata struck her arm, interrupting the jutsu.

Ino yelped as Hinata began bombarding her with strike after strike.

Ino felt as her chakra waned with every strike. With a final strike, Ino went flying backwards and hit the ground. She coughed up a small amount of blood, her limbs felt like led.

Hinata stood over the Yamanaka. "A…again I am sorry Ino-san… I really wish I did not do this… My f..father demanded that I win though…" Hinata glanced up at the crowd, where her father and sister sat watching.

Ino tried to sit up, but could do nothing.

Genma appeared before the two of them. "Winner, Hinata Hyuga!"

Ino felt her eyes water slightly, but said nothing as Hinata bent down and with a few well placed strikes, feeling returned to her limbs and she sat up.

Standing up she looked at her opponent and extended her hand. "You deserved the win more than me anyways" Ino said, a small smile on her face. '_Besides… Now I know what I need to do… I need to get stronger to keep up with everyone… I was stupid for thinking a few weeks of training with my dad would make a huge difference.'_

Hinata took her hand and shook it, blushing in embarrassment.

"Y…You did very well… I did not anticipate that I would need to use my Kaiten against you."

Ino smiled sadly.

* * *

Naruto smiled as the two girls walked off of the field.

"Hm… Kind of a dumb fight don't you think?" Sasuke muttered.

Naruto shrugged. "Not all fights are going to be battles of life or death. Sometimes one person is just much stronger than the other and it ends quickly."

Sasuke shrugged. "Not that it matters…"

"I think your match is next Sasuke" Kakashi said over their shoulders.

Sasuke nodded as he walked to the edge of the seats and jumped down into the stadium.

"Should of made a bet with the bookie for Sasuke to win" Naruto muttered.

Kakashi chuckled. "Not sure they'd allow you to."

Naruto shrugged and watched as Hinata walked past and sat down next to her father and then Ino appeared, glancing at him before taking a seat with her father.

"Hey Ino!" Naruto called after her.

Ino turned towards the blonde, frowning.

"You did really well out there! That was awesome!" Naruto gave her a thumbs up.

Ino stared at the boy before beginning to tear up and smiled at him. "Thanks Naruto."

Naruto nodded and glanced back at the stadium.

"You're boyfriend is about to start his match" Naruto teased.

Ino grinned at this. "And he's going to kick some ass! GO SASUKE-KUN!" Ino yelled out.

Inoichi went white at this. '_Sasuke Uchiha is her boyfriend?!'_

* * *

Sasuke frowned as Ino's voice rang out. '_There she goes again… Annoying girl…'_

Neji Hyuga approached from the opposite direction and glared at the Uchiha.

"So… The rookie of the year, Sasuke Uchiha… It will be my sincere pleasure to show everyone that the Sharingan is truly beneath the Byakugan." Neji sneered.

Sasuke grinned as he activated his mirror eyes.

"Enough of your posturing… We're here to fight and you're in my way." At this, Sasuke glanced up at his blonde friend.

Neji smirked. "You think that I am inferior to that Naruto character? Oh please. He is simply a failure, and cannot compare to a genius such as you and I. He was born trash, while you and I were born into clans of power and renown."

Sasuke chuckled at this. "You know… I thought the exact same thing not long ago, but let's just say that your eyes don't see as much as they should."

Neji scowled at the verbal blow. "We shall see…" He stepped into his Taijutsu pose.

Sasuke grinned, knowing that this match was going to be interesting.

"Begin!" Genma announced.

Sasuke and Neji shot towards each other, releasing a barrage of Taijutsu strikes against each other.

The crowd began to cheer as Neji and Sasuke exchanged blows.

Neji went for a Tenketsu strike, only for Sasuke to slightly shift his weight, just barely missing the mark and hitting nothing.

Sasuke jumped in the air and spun with speed that seemed to surpass Neji's, however the Hyuga had read the boy's body language and was able to escape with a simple graze as he aimed for a Tenketsu on the boy's calf.

Neji grit his teeth in frustration when Sasuke shifted and the boy missed the mark yet again. Suddenly, he saw the kunai coming up at his chin as the Uchiha twisted in a display of acrobatics that would make many women jealous. Jumping back, he was unscathed.

Sasuke landed on his feet and twirled around, letting the kunai fly at his opponent.

Neji sidestepped the projectile and sped forward, intending on showing the Sasuke that his eyes were superior.

Sasuke flipped over the boy, hurling shuriken as he passed over him.

Neji began to suddenly spin, just as Hinata had done in the match previous, causing the shuriken to bounce away harmlessly.

Sasuke was less fortunate as he was much to close to the rotation and was blown into the air painfully.

'_This guy is good'_ Sasuke thought with a smirk.

Neji ceased his technique and watched as Sasuke landed a good twenty feet in front of him.

"You're not bad for an Uchiha" Neji sneered, his confidence unwavering.

Sasuke said nothing as he thanked his eyes silently. If it had not been for them, he would not have been able to avoid his opponent's gentle fist style.

'_I would hate to have to face him without my Sharingan… He could win if I hadn't developed these eyes.'_

He was forced to dodge as Neji was on him in an instant. As the Hyuga went for a palm strike, Sasuke saw an opening in his style.

He shifted his foot and swiftly avoided the blow by twisting his torso. Neji's eyes widened when he saw what he had done and had no way to avoid the fist that rocketed up and smashed into his elbow.

For a moment, everything was still and silent for the two boys. Sasuke's eyes widened as well when he saw what had just happened. Then they heard the crack as Neji's elbow was completely shattered and his forearm hung unnaturally from the joint.

Neji suppressed a scream of agony and jumped back away from the Uchiha.

* * *

Naruto's jaw dropped when he saw what his teammate had done to the boy.

'_Damn… He either didn't know his own strength, or he's fucking ruthless…'_

He glanced at his sensei and saw Kakashi shaking his head.

'_Dammit… I can't tell if that was the curse seal, or just an accident.'_ Kakashi thought, anger at the edge of his mind. He just hoped that Sasuke wouldn't pull something like this again.

Not far off, Gai-sensei was howling about how his youthful student was being outshone.

'_Isn't he worried about his health?'_ Naruto wondered.

Ino was horrified at what had just happened between the two and looked at her father to see that he seemed impressed.

"That boy is extremely strong to do that to one of Gai's students" Inoichi commented when he saw the look of horror on Ino's face.

"B…but why would he do that?" Ino stuttered. Her crush seemed ruthless at this point and she was feeling more afraid of the boy than admiration.

"Gai is notorious for an insane training regime, and I'm sure that Kakashi told Sasuke about this. So for this reason, I'm sure Sasuke felt he shouldn't hold back lest he be beaten by Neji. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt him that badly."

Inoichi gave his daughter a small hug, and Ino nodded, a small smile on her face.

'_I don't know why, but the look on his face… It scared me…'_ Ino thought. She had seen that Sasuke had a gleeful smile on his face for just a quick moment before it registered with him what he had done.

* * *

The Kazekage shifted in his seat beside the Hokage.

"This Uchiha… He is very gifted to have done that to a Hyuga."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Neji is known for excelling in his speed and strength from what his sensei has told me, but to think that he was unable to react against a boy that's a year his junior only goes to show how much Sasuke Uchiha has progressed."

The crowd began cheering even more as the proctor approached the Hyuga. No one could hear what they were saying, but it was clear that Neji wanted to continue the fight when Genma jumped away, signaling for the fight to continue.

Hiruzen grinned. '_This Neji, he is quite the trooper to continue on with his arm the way it is. He won't give up.'_

The Kazekage however paid no attention to Neji and had his eyes glued to the Uchiha.

'_That young boy… So much potential…'_

* * *

Neji was trying to get through the pain in his arm, but every time he moved, it felt as if it was being broken over and over again.

"You should give up already" Sasuke called to him from across the arena.

Neji only glared at him. '_This is bad… But I refuse to give in to an Uchiha…'_

Sasuke said nothing and waited for Neji to make the first move.

'_I'm going to end this here and now… He had his chance to forfeit; it's not my fault what happens from here…'_

Neji's foot shifted and that's when Sasuke began going through hand seals as fast as he could, landing on the tiger seal.

Neji's eyes widened when he saw the amount of chakra that Sasuke had built up and knew that he intended to end the match with this.

He began to rotate, wincing and groaning as the motion only caused pain in his arm.

"**Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu**" Sasuke blew out a large ball of fire that twisted and contorted into the head of a dragon. Roaring it flew at the Hyuga.

"**KAITEN!"** The air rippled as Neji activated his protective dome of spinning chakra.

The fire technique rocketed towards Neji and clashed against the rotation technique. For a moment, it looked as if the two were at a stalemate at this point.

Neji began to roar as he tried to continue his Kaiten but could feel it beginning to slip.

He knew that if he let the technique fail, Sasuke's technique would mean he would be beaten, if not killed.

'_This guy… He's better than me, but I need to live through this… I cannot die here! I CANNOT!'_

He increased the speed of his rotation to compensate for his useless arm.

Sasuke grinned as Sasuke did this. '_This guy is good… Too bad for him.'_

He ran through the seals one more time. "**Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!**"

The audience was roaring, drowning out the sound of Sasuke's technique as it smashed against Neji's Kaiten.

Neji knew there was nothing more that could be done at this point. His Kaiten began to fail and he closed his eyes. He had failed, despite being a genius, a Hyuga, he had failed his clan and had been defeated by the Uchiha.

He deserved this, for being weak.

The flames exploded upon impact, throwing Neji's limp body into the stadium wall.

Sasuke sighed as his Sharingan deactivated. '_I didn't think I'd have to use that technique twice… That's really draining.'_ Sasuke watched as the medic ninja ran onto the field and inspected Neji. He walked over to them, just to check on the boy.

"…some major burns and his elbow is completely shattered, however he is not in any danger. Once he's healed, he'll be back to active duty."

Sasuke smirked. He had aimed the techniques at just at the area in front of Neji, not directly at the boy. He didn't want to kill someone after all.

Genma nodded as the medic nin's gave him a signal.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!"

* * *

The Hokage was impressed by the Uchiha. He was beginning to show potential that Itachi had exhibited early on in his own ninja career.

The thought of the elder Uchiha caused a pang of guilt in Sarutobi, but he shook it off.

"He would make an excellent Chunin with that kind of power" the Kazekage stated.

Hiruzen nodded. "He definitely has the strength to become a Chunin, however that isn't the only thing I need to see from him. He must have the ability to adapt to a situation and plan ahead, not just brute strength… We have yet to see this quality from him in these exams."

The Kazekage glanced at the aging Hokage. "Surely he will be promoted though with that strength. After all, he is the last Uchiha."  
The Hokage remained silent as he watched young Sasuke begin to leave the field.

* * *

Naruto grinned. "That was a crazy attack Sasuke!" he slapped the boy on the back in congratulations.

Sasuke smirked at his friend. "Think you have anything that can top my great dragon fire technique?"

Naruto's smirk grew wider. "We'll see right now. It is my turn after all."

* * *

Temari took a deep breath as she felt Gaara's eyes boring into her.

"I know Gaara. I won't hold anything back." She glanced at her brother.

Gaara looked across the stands at the young blonde boy he was eager to face.

"Do not disappoint me Uzumaki…" he said under his breath.

Temari walked away, heading into the halls within the large coliseum.

As she took step after step, she began to feel fear claw at her heart. Up until now she hadn't thought of the possibility of dying. However, the more she thought of how Naruto Uzumaki could be a Jinchuriki, the more the fear of death loomed over her. Now she was about to face him and she was looking to prove that he was nothing more than a regular Genin.

She bit her lip and wished she could forfeit the match if need be, but Gaara would kill her if she did.

She gripped the large fan on her back as she rounded a corner and ran into her opponent.

The boy seemed surprised to see her as much as she was, but then he grinned.

"Hey, I know your teammate Gaara is a dick, but I hope you do alright!" He extended his hand to shake hers.

'_Gaara must be wrong… There's no way this kid is a Jinchuriki… Meaning… These are probably his last moments…'_ She grinned slightly, feeling a weight lifted off her chest. She extended her own hand and shook Naruto's.

"Good luck to you as well Uzumaki… But warning, I'm not going to hold back."

Naruto's grin widened. "I hope you don't, because you're going to need to come at me with everything to give yourself a chance."

Temari felt a shiver, but waved it off as an overconfident Genin blowing smoke. Gaara was wrong about this boy. No Jinchuriki was ever this happy, Gaara was proof of this.

* * *

Ino straightened up in her seat a bit as Naruto and Temari walked out onto the field side by side.

'_So let's see if Naruto can beat this sand Genin as well.'_

Inoichi noticed her daughter's interest in the coming fight. '_She's more interested in this than she was in her own teammates match. She's become obsessed with Uzumaki more than even she has realized. Maybe nearly as much as the Uchiha.'_

A few sections over, Hinata was also equally interested in the match that was about to begin. Hiashi and Hanabi both noticed her watching the blonde boy intensely.

Hiashi narrowed his eyes. '_So she is interested in the Kyubi's Jinchuriki? This is troublesome… Even if he is Minato's boy, he will simply bring her down. He was the dead last in the academy and trouble maker. Her fate is not to be intertwined with his.'_

Hanabi snorted at the blonde boy in the arena. "Making it this far… He is either extremely lucky or has some hidden talents."

Hinata said nothing, blushing as she knew her father was watching her intently at this point.

* * *

Sasuke watched intently as the match was about to begin. '_Show me how far you've come Naruto. I want our match to be the best here.'_

Kakashi had earlier been toying with the idea of reading his new Icha Icha volume during the matches, however he was extremely interested to see how far his student had come along under Jiraiya's tutelage. He was no longer keeping an eye on his surroundings either as he focused solely on his student.

'_Naruto… You're going to win… You're becoming more and more like your father.'_

* * *

Kabuto appeared behind Kakashi Hatake and silently cursed his luck. He had not thought he would be here and should have paid more attention. Thankfully, he was disguised as ANBU thanks to a certain dead individual from earlier that day.

No one would discover the body of course, not until after the attack had begun.

He glanced up at the Kage box and saw that Orochimaru sat beside the Hokage. He grinned beneath the mask. '_The old man can't see through the disguise… Some Kage.'_

He then glanced down at the stadium and grinned. '_And here is the Kyubi's vessel, competing to become a Chunin. I do hope he makes it far enough to face Gaara, that will be fun to watch. Two Jinchuriki fighting in a stadium full of shinobi.'_

He glanced again at Kakashi and was thankful that he either hadn't noticed him, or simply thought of him as another ANBU. There were a few stationed around the stadium after all.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned forward. This was what he was wondering about. How far had Naruto Uzumaki come along with Jiraiya. What techniques had the boy been taught, how much stronger was he. Was he going to start using the Biju he held at bay.

The Kazekage noticed his shift in demeanor and narrowed his eyes.

'_Why is he interested in this boy more than Sasuke? The Uzumaki boy may be the Kyubi Jinchuriki but he isn't in control of the Biju…'_

* * *

Genma announced that the match begin and Naruto was forced to jump back as Temari, in one swift movement, grabbed the large fan off her back, opened it and swung it at him.

"**Fūsajin no Jutsu**" dust was kicked up by the technique, essentially blinding Naruto.

Temari grinned and jumped back as she prepared to unleash her next technique. '_That way he won't know where I am'_ she thought with confidence. However, that quickly changed as she heard movement beside her and on instinct, she shut her fan and spun around, blocking a strike from her opponent's fist.

She pushed the boy away, her heart pounding in her chest.

'_He's a sensory ninja… That won't work on him then.'_

She reopened her fan and swung it, a powerful wind hitting Naruto full force.

He grit his teeth as he was flung across the stadium before landing painfully.

'_I see… So she prefers long range… Fine.'_

Getting to his feet he brushed his jacket off. Then, quickly building his chakra, he ran through a set of hand seals.

"_**Fūton: Daitoppa!**_"

Temari reacted by swinging her fan yet again, pouring chakra into her attack.

The two techniques clashed in the middle of the arena, causing dirt and grass to fly into the air as they struggled for dominance.

Suddenly, they seemed to mix and a small cyclone appeared where the jutsu had met.

Temari narrowed her eyes. '_It's a distraction.'_

Wheeling around, she closed her fan and swung it like a bat, just barely missing a blonde that had ducked at the last minute and slid towards her.

She jumped in the air to avoid the sweeping motion from Naruto and countered with three kunai.

Two of the knives missed, but the third stuck into the boy's sleeve.

He jumped up to his feet and sent a round house kick at the girl only to be once again blocked by the iron frame of her fan.

'_She's pretty good at defending herself'_ he thought to himself as he went for a punch only to hit air as she jumped back.

'_She wants to keep a good distance between us.'_

The small cyclone died out quickly as Temari waved her fan yet again.

"This is getting old…" Naruto muttered as quicly pulled the kunai from his sleeve before he ran through hand seals for his fireball technique.

Then she did something odd, instead of sending the blast of air at him, she sent it skywards.

He stopped in the middle of his jutsu. '_What the hell was that?'_

* * *

The Kazekage was intrigued. The boy was fast, faster than he remembered. But Temari had begun to get serious, there was little doubt that she would win this match.

The Hokage frowned at the two competitors. He recognized the jutsu Temari was using and it could mean the end of the road for Naruto if he didn't do what was necessary.

* * *

Sasuke smirked. '_He's so used to close range combat that fighting a long range opponent is throwing him off his game… Let's see what you do here.'_

Kakashi was thinking along the same lines.

'_She's a wind user meaning that his one fire jutsu would be advantageous if she didn't have any other jutsu to use… But this new jutsu isn't going to give him an easy time of it… He shouldn't have hesitated…'_

* * *

Naruto grit his teeth as he jumped back. '_There's some reason she did that…'_

He stared her down as she smirked at him before he heard something in the air.

Looking up, Naruto was surprised to see a tornado descend on him. He had no time to react as it hit him full force.

Temari smirked. "**Fūton: Tatsu no Ōshigoto**"

'_He was stupid enough to stop his great fireball technique when he was confused… Definitly not Chunin material. Such a fool, and now he's dead.'_

She turned away, pleased with herself when she heard an odd rumble. She turned just as her tornado broke apart and flung her back, her body striking the stadium wall painfully. The audience in the arena had to brace themselves as the Jutsu destabilized.

There, where he had been hit by the technique, stood Naruto, slightly cut up but otherwise alright.

He narrowed his eyes at the girl. '_I was fast enough that I don't think anyone saw that I summoned a frog, but I could be wrong… I want to keep that a secret as long as I can in these exams.'_

* * *

Kakashi chuckled. '_Impressive… He destabilized the jutsu when he summoned something of such large mass that the jutsu couldn't handle, it broke apart… He did it quickly as well and I didn't see any seals, then again it was hard for my eye to see. Smart move on dispelling the summon before anyone could see. Gives him the element of surprise.'_

"How did he do that?" Sasuke asked his sensei.

"I couldn't see honestly." Kakashi lied.

* * *

Inoichi was severally impressed. The boy had the toad summoning contract and was quick about it as well. Not only that, but he was extremely powerful for a Genin and he could see which way this match was going to go… That is if the Sand Kunoichi didn't have anymore tricks up her sleeve.

"Naruto just keeps surprising me…" Ino mumbled as she watched the match. "He didn't pull off any of this in preliminaries."

* * *

Temari was grinding her teeth in annoyance. She had been sure of the boy's demise, yet here he stood after somehow deactivating her jutsu.

"Fine… I guess I'll have to use that technique" she growled.

Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Hey, you messed up my new jacket that Ero-Sennin bought me!"

'_Pervy sage?! What the hell kind of company does he keep?'_ Temari wondered.

"I'll give you one more shot at me before I finish this match!" Naruto declared. "You had better give it your all, or else!"

She was getting extremely angry at this point. The boy was clearly taunting her, and it was working.

She opened her fan up. "Fine, this is my strongest jutsu, if you think you're up to it, face it head on!" She screamed.

She bit her thumb, smearing a bit of blood on the fan before swinging it.

"**Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai**!"

The wind rushed towards Naruto faster than it had before, and riding the wind, was a small weasel wielding a sickle that seemed to large for him.

Naruto found himself being thrown off of his feet by the wind just as the weasel swung its blade towards Naruto.

He grit his teeth, making a clone who pushed him out of the way and took strike in his place.

Just as the clone vanished, the wind seemed to change direction and the weasel pivoted towards Naruto.

Landing he jumped back just as the weasel lashed out at him.

'_This thing is fucking fast!'_ Naruto thought as he dodged strike after strike.

'_I'll have to lure it towards the girl'_ he thought as his hair was cut slightly by the blade.

Using speed that made even Lee impressed, he began to serpentine towards the blonde girl that had cast the jutsu.

The weasel caught onto his plan and directed the wind towards Temari's location, planning on making sure to dodge the girl as to not harm her when suddenly two dozen of the blonde boys were on him in an instant.

'_This…this boy! He's clever for tricking me!'_

Temari's jaw dropped when after a slight scuffle and at least half of the Naruto's having been destroyed, Katamari was held up by four Naruto's, each one holding one of his tiny limbs.

A fifth one held his scythe.

"T…this is just embarrassing…" Katamari growled under his breath.

"Guess you're best just wasn't enough" Naruto's voice came from behind Temari.

She wheeled around, her fan at the ready when she felt her feet swept from under her and then a fist punching her into the ground painfully.

Her eyes widened as she felt the ground beneath her crack from the blow as well as most of her ribs.

In her shock, she nearly missed the intense blue eyes of Naruto Uzumaki. She coughed and a bit of blood splattered his face.

"…and I've had it with that annoying fucking fan." He growled. She felt fear grip her as she stared into his eyes. They were all too familiar. They reminded her of how Gaara would look at people at times.

'_H…he's just like Gaara… I was wrong then…'_

And her vision faded as Naruto's fist connected to her face.

The crowd went wild as Naruto stood over the unconscious Temari. His clones made a poof and disappeared, leaving the weasel and its scythe alone.

'_No reason for me to stay…'_ The weasel thought as he glanced at the unconscious summoner.

He disappeared in a plumb of smoke, leaving nothing behind.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma's voice announced.

Grinning, Naruto threw his fist in the air. "ONE DOWN!" he yelled. The crowd cheered even louder at this, loving the energy and enthusiasm.

* * *

Sasuke shook his head as he watched his teammate begin to hop about, blowing kisses to the audience.

"Of course, it wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't showboat a little" Kakashi chuckled.

'_He's definitely faster and stronger… I can't wait to fight you'_ Sasuke thought, watching the blonde boy as Genma approached him, trying to get him off the field.

Inoichi whistled as the boy walked out of the arena, still waiving at everyone.

"He's got an ego that one, but I can see why. Being that strong at that age is impressive."  
Ino nodded, a small smile on her face.

"To think he's taken down two of those sand ninja on his own" she said.

Inoichi nodded. "That girl wasn't a slouch either. It's a shame that Temari girl didn't keep her cool though. Naruto egged her on and it worked on her. She fell for it plain and simple."

Ino nodded. She was sure that if Temari had not fallen for Naruto's ploy, she would have been a better challenge for him.

* * *

The Kazekage chuckled. "To think that blonde child would defeat Temari so effectively. I believe you have two Genin to promote. Uzumaki and Uchiha."

The Hokage gave him a small smile. "I'll admit that the two of them are definitely stronger than some of their peers, however it is to be seen if they have the strategic ability to become Chunin Kazekage-dono. Perhaps the next round we shall see more from them."

The Kazekage shifted in his seat a bit and Hiruzen was quite sure that he disagreed with him. Clearly he felt that power was much more important, it seemed awfully similar to one of his students.

Looking down at the stadium, the Hokage saw that Gaara was already in the arena, waiting for his opponent, Shino Aburame.

"This should be interesting" The Kazekage muttered.

* * *

"Jiraiya-sama!" Ibiki barked. Jiraiya turned from the wooden fence that surrounded the hotspring he was peeping into.

"What now Ibiki?" the old man asked, slightly irritated.

"You do realize that the spring is closed today, do you not?"

Jiraiya scowled at the man. "I had just figured that out when I saw that there wasn't a single beautiful naked woman beyond this peephole…"

Ibiki stared stoically at the man. '_The Sannin… Such an odd bunch…'_

"Jiraiya-sama, I have been ordered by the Hokage to escort you to the Chunin Exams stadium."

Jiraiya stood up and huffed at this. "Oh please, I take it he's paranoid about the Jinchuriki match that's coming up?"

Ibiki said nothing but gave a harsh look at the elder Shinobi.

"What? No one is around that doesn't know about it" Jiraiya sighed.

The man did have a point, but that was irrelevant.

"Shall I take you there" Ibiki asked the man, ignoring the earlier comment.

Jiraiya snorted at this. "I grew up here, I'll show myself."

Ibiki nodded as he turned about. "One more thing… It is possible that Orochimaru may show up if things escalate."  
Jiraiya groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. '_Like I didn't know this already…'_

Ibiki suppressed a shiver when he thought of the other Sannin. Jiraiya noted his discomfort and addressed it.

"It's nothing Jiraiya-sama… I just don't like snakes very much."

"How do you deal with Anko then?" Jiraiya countered.

"Despite being a snake summoner, she doesn't use them around me as much as you might think. She's very effective without them when it comes to gathering information."

Jiraiya nodded. "Well let's get going then… Not much to do around here anyways…"

Ibiki nodded, it was definitely a shame that the spring was closed.

* * *

Gaara watched impatiently as his sand blocked another hail of kunai and shurikan from Shino.

'_It's just like with Sakura…'_ Shino thought to himself. He knew that he was not going to win, especially since his Kikaichu refused to get near Gaara's sand at all. He also had been present when Gaara had gone berserk against some Genin in the forest of death.

Narrowing his eyes he jumped back as a tendril of sand sought after him.

"I forfeit." He stated suddenly.

Genma appeared next to the boy and nodded. "Winner, Gaara!"

The audience booed as they had just begun and it looked as if Shino had done nothing other than throw some shuriken only to be stopped.

Genma glanced at the boy and then back to Gaara.

'_His bugs must have refused to fight off a Jinchuriki, knowing already what the outcome would have been. Smart of him to check for an alternative before withdrawing.'_

Gaara seemed mildly irritated by the fact that he was not able to fight anything, but said nothing of it as he turned away and began to exit the arena.

'_Naruto Uzumaki… You are my goal…'_

Genma turned and called out. "Next match, Shikamaru Nara VS. Gaara!"

Gaara stopped and closed his eyes, a grin playing at his mouth.

'_I forgot… I have two chances.'_

He turned around, his face still expressionless.

'_Perhaps this next opponent will show me more than the coward before him.'_

* * *

Shikamaru groaned, knowing already that no matter what he did would end up with him losing, hospitalization, or death.

"Maybe I should just withdraw as well…" he muttered.

Asuma placed his hand on the boys shoulder. "Give it your best, even if you lose you can still be promoted to Chunin."

Shikamaru groaned as he turned and began walking towards the exit that would take him to the arena.

"I know I know… I just don't feel like dealing with this guy… He seems a lot more troublesome than most people."

As he walked along, he heard his teammate cheer his name loudly.

"GO SHIKAMARU!" Ino cried.

"YOU CAN DO IT!" Naruto's voice echoed. He winced at how loud the two blondes were. '_So troublesome.'_ However, if one looked at him, they could see a smile on his face.

* * *

'_Shikamaru… you better be careful down there. This guy isn't normal, I just hope you realize that before you get hurt.'_ Naruto thought as he glanced at the leaf Genin before looking down at the sand Genin who just happened to be staring up at him.

'_He knows about me I think… That feeling I got when we first met, the Kyubi was warning me I think… about the Ichibi. If I'm right, then his Biju probably warned him as well.'_

Shikamaru arrived on the field fairly quickly and saw that Gaara was staring up at the stands. He looked up to see that Naruto was staring right back at the boy, both with equal intensity.

'_What's with those two? It's like the only reason they're here is to fight each other, not for the exams themselves… I understand why Naruto wants to fight the guy, but why the other way around?'_

He cleared his throat to get the attention of his opponent, however Gaara continued to ignore him.

"Begin" Genma said suddenly.

Gaara continued to stare at the boy.

'_Fine, I guess I can start…'_

He loosed a kunai only for it to be stopped by the sand. Still, Gaara did not even glance at the boy. Then, the kunai exploded. Shikamaru knew that it wouldn't work, but it did provide him with a distraction.

The smoke cleared and there was Gaara, staring at Shikamaru now. His eyes seemed murderous.

"You… Are interesting" the boy said.

He looked down to see that his shadow was now attached to Shikamaru's by a long shadow between the two of them.

"I know there's very little I can do to harm you right now, but I thought I should just show you that your almighty sand doesn't block everything" Shikamaru said, a grin on his face. "I will end up forfeiting as I'm simply not fast enough to avoid your sand attacks for long, and I don't have the necessary skill set to take you down… However, I can tell you that Naruto isn't one you want to mess with… I don't care how strong you think you are, but Naruto's so troublesome, I'd rather face you then him."  
Gaara remained silent as Shikamaru spoke.

Shikamaru sighed and scratched the back of his head. '_Besides… Chances are I'm going to need to conserve my chakra from the ANBU that are stationed here as well as the Jonin that are patrolling the city.'_ He glanced up at the Hokage and then to the hidden ANBU not far from his position.

He raised his hand. "Not to sound redundant here, but I forfeit as well" Shikamaru announced.

He looked at Gaara to see annoyance written all over his face as he had been forced to raise his hand as well.

"You're as well shielded as you think." Shikamaru released his jutsu and turned around, walking away.

'_That boy… I think I shall kill him once I'm done with Uzumaki… he irritates me.'_

Gaara thought to himself.

* * *

Naruto sighed in relief. '_Good… Shino and Shikamaru were both smart enough to just give up… They aren't equipped with the skills to take care of him… Thankfully, his next opponent has just the technique's in store if he does release the Ichibi.'_

OF course, he was referring to himself.

He glanced around at the stadium that seemed to be in a slight uproar from the two forfeits in a row.

"COME ON! THESE ARE THE CHUNIN EXAMS! PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT, NOT QUIT!" one man yelled.

"THIS IS LAME!"

"BORING!"

The complaints were all very similar and Naruto suppressed a grin. The next matches were going to be anything but lame.

'_First… Sasuke and Lee are going to fight… Then it Hinata vs Me… Once I've defeated her, it'll be me Vs Gaara… No way are these going to be boring…'_

He thought, a grin spread across his face.

"I hope you're ready Sasuke… This is where the it picks up." His teammate grinned beside him. He had the same train of thought.

Kakashi looked between the two and smiled. '_I'm glad that those two aren't how Obito and I were… This is a good team. It'll be a shame when they're promoted to Chunin. At least Sakura will still be around.'_ He chuckled at himself.

* * *

The Kazekage chuckled, causing Sarutobi to glance at him.

"I apologize Hokage-dono, I am simply excited for the next round. These will be interesting match ups."

Hiruzen nodded. "Sasuke vs Rock Lee, Hinata Hyuga vs Naruto Uzumaki, and the winnder of that match goes up against Gaara. I can understand the anticipation."

The Hokage was certain that Naruto would prevail against Hinata as she wasn't as strong as Temari had been, and the match between Lee and Sasuke also seemed uncertain. However, he hoped that when Naruto had to fight Gaara, that he wasn't too worn out.

Otherwise, the young heir of Minato Namikaze may either access the Kyubi's chakra, or worse, get killed by the other Jinchuriki. Both scenarios were not ideal and were highly probable.

* * *

_**And there we go folks. I know some may be angry about how two of the matches flew by so quickly and two of the matches resulted in forfeits. However, I really feel that Shino and Shikamaru are both smart enough to know that facing off against Gaara is suicidal.**_

_**Then Rock Lee would totally tear Choji apart in part one. Part two would be more entertaining though. Then there's Ino vs Hinata. Ino just started taking things seriously, so she wouldn't make tons of progress. She's not used to training heavily, and doesn't have the endurance to train excessively like Naruto did in the beginning of this story. That's why she made some progress, but was basically cannon fodder against Hinata, whom I feel if she had made it into the finals, Hiashi would have been brutal with training to ensure that she did well enough to not bring shame on the clan or whatever his excuse would be.**_

_**Just felt that I should explain that before people freak out and send me PM's about it.**_

_**Now if you want to freak out, feel free to, just wanted to get my word in on it.**_

_**Otherwise, I really hope that this chapter was enjoyable for you, especially since there wasn't a manga chapter this week… Sad panda… :'(**_

_**Seriously, I was really sad that there wasn't one this week.**_

_**Anyways, please review and tell me your thoughts, opinions, snarky remarks. And I hope you had a wonderful and inebriated St patricks day. **_

_**(I was drunk when I decided to uploaded it… not when I wrote it…)**_

_**Until the next chapter!**_


	12. Holding Back

_**Well there is no Naruto chapter this week which is really freaking heart breaking… But I figured now is as good a time as any to release a new chapter for everyone so we all have our Naruto fix until the actual manga resumes in a week with… A DOUBLE ISSUE!? Sorry, I'm excited for it as… Well if you're not caught up then I won't ruin it for you but shit just got real…**_

_**Anyways, here is the newest chapter for the story enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own naruto.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Holding Back**_

* * *

The crowd was beginning to become restless. The proctors announced a brief intermission so that the contestants could prepare for the next round of matches.

During that intermission, bets had been placed for the next round on who would emerge victorious.

From the talk of the crowd, Sasuke was being bet on winning as was Naruto in his first match. But Gaara of the sand was bet on winning against the Uzumaki.

Very few people would bet on someone going a round against the Kazekage's son right after fighting a Hyuga.

Kakashi of course had bet on Naruto winning and suppressed a grin. He was hoping to get a lot of money out of this.

Glancing to his right, Sasuke was attempting to gain information on Lee from Naruto, but the blonde was unyielding and simply ignored his friend's requests.

"It wouldn't be fair to either of you! I haven't told him about you, and I won't tell you about him. You'll find out soon enough!" Naruto said, crossing his arms and turning his head.

Sasuke seemed slightly irritated at the display but eventually gave up.

* * *

Tenten watched as her teammate pledged to their sensei that he would win against Sasuke Uchiha otherwise he would climb the Hokage monument with one hand while wearing two times the normal weight he wore.

Tenten rolled her eyes.

'_There's no way Lee could beat this guy… He beat Neji after all and Lee's never beat Neji…'_ She felt a slight pang of guilt for thinking this, but she felt it was true.

She glanced over at the boy that had surprised her and saw that he was talking with Naruto.

'_I wonder if Naruto's can beat Sasuke Uchiha.'_

She quickly made the decision that he could not as during the few times she had met him, Lee was clearly much stronger than him.

'_Well… Good luck to you Lee.'_

* * *

The Hokage leaned back and groaned as his back popped uncomfortably.

"And still you do not choose someone else to take up the responsibilities?" The Kazekage chuckled at the old man.

"I still have plenty of fight in my Kazekage, no need to worry about that just yet." The Hokage grumbled as popped his back once again and felt a wave of relief.

He glanced at the crowd as they grew more and more restless for the next round.

'_Well Jiraiya… Let us see if Naruto-kun shows off any of those skills you taught him.'_

* * *

Ino sat silently next to her father as the intermission was coming to an end.

She shifted in her seat, anticipation building in her for the coming matches.

'_I'm sure I'm not the only one… I mean Naruto and Sasuke have both surprised us so far.'_

She glanced to her father who seemed to be looking at the two boys that were on everyone's minds.

'_The Jinchuriki has become very strong since the academy days; I can see why Ino was so fascinated with him. Same goes for the Uchiha. For Genin, those two are something to be reckoned with.'_

* * *

"Now then!" Genma announced from the middle of the field. "The next match, Rock Lee versus, Sasuke Uchiha!"

The crowd roared at this, to see the Uchiha in action once again excited them.

Naruto grinned widely, knowing that this fight was going to be the talk of the village for quite some time.

He said nothing to Sasuke this time about winning, feeling that it wouldn't be fair to his friend Lee.

He merely nodded to the two and gave them both a thumbs up.

'_At last, I will be able to show everyone here that working hard matches being a natural genius!'_ Lee's fist tightened as he glanced at the Uchiha who was walking just ahead of him through the stadium towards where they would enter the arena.

'_He has definitely improved in the past month… His speed matches my own, and in just a month at that... Sasuke Uchiha is definitely a fantastic shinobi!'_

They finally arrived before Genma and positioned themselves in the middle of the arena facing one another.

Sasuke smirked. "It's not going to be a brief fight like when we first met."

Lee nodded. "I have assumed as much Sasuke. This fight will be a bit of a challenge; however I shall not back down!"

Genma signaled the beginning of the match as the crowds cheers swelled.

Sasuke moved first, unleashing a barrage of shuriken towards the green clad boy.

One moment he was there, the next he wasn't.

'_He's already taken his weights off…'_ Sasuke thought as he recalled what Kakashi had warned him of.

Jumping back, he avoided a sweep from Lee who had reappeared beside him.

Upon landing, Lee was on him with a barrage of Taijutsu that had Sasuke being driven backwards.

'_Damn this guy is strong'_ Sasuke thought as he winced slightly from a kick that he blocked with his forearm.

Sasuke took a step forward, a risky move as it left him open against Lee's Taijutsu, however in his hand was a kunai that Lee had nearly failed to notice.

As Lee went in for a blow to Sasuke's ribs, Sasuke brought the blade up towards Lee's chin with amazing speed.

Thankfully, Lee's reflexes kicked in and he bent backwards just enough to allow the blade to pass him harmlessly. Flipping backwards he landed just as Sasuke jumped towards him. Lee jumped again and whirled around.

"**Konoha Senpū**" Sasuke grit his teeth as he tried to block Lee's kick, but the force of the strike sent him hurtling back.

Lee appeared beside the downed Sasuke and jumped into the air to avoid Sasuke's quick shuriken barrage. As he landed, Lee quickly brought his knee up to block Sasuke's foot coming towards him. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke shifted his foot so that he could push off of Lee's leg and tried to knee him in the chin. The hit connected and Lee winced as his teeth clacked against each other painfully.

Sasuke was suddenly sent flying from a kick to his abdomen from Lee. Sasuke rolled to the ground and sprung back to his feet, the two now had some distance between each other.

Lee stared at the Uchiha for a moment.

'_He's much better than I had thought he would be… I may need to open the gates in order to defeat him, especially if he begins to use ninjutsu to keep me at bay.'_

Sasuke grinned. '_Now that I can keep up with him, it doesn't matter that his Taijutsu is better than my own, my Sharingan can predict his movements well enough to not be a problem.'_

Sasuke put his kunai back in his holster. "Not as confident as you were earlier I see" Sasuke goaded Lee.

Lee did not react immediately. "It is true that originally I had thought that I may be able to defeat you quickly, however after watching your fight with Neji, I knew this was not the case."

Sasuke nodded. "Good, I don't want this to be over quickly."  
Lee dodged to the side as a fireball roared towards him.

His eyes widened in surprise, '_I barely tracked the hand seals on that, he has become much faster.'_

Whirling around another fireball raged towards him. It was simple enough for Lee to jump backwards and miss the impact, but from the heat it was generating Lee knew this was not the same technique that had defeated Neji.

'_He's distracting me'_ Lee quickly realized. He dropped to the ground just as Sasuke's roundhouse kick flew over his head.

Twisting around, he swept Sasuke's feet from underneath him. Sasuke merely grunted as he planted his hands on the ground and lashed out with his heel, forcing Lee to block the strike with his own forearm.

Sasuke frowned as he had put more force into this strike than he had meant to and Lee had simply blocked it without a problem.

'_No wonder Naruto got so strong… If he had trained with this guy, it would explain a lot.'_

Pushing off the ground, he twisted in the air, sending a round house kick at Lee who just dodged the strike.

Lee jumped back avoiding the strike and landing a good distance away from the Uchiha.

Sasuke threw another barrage of shuriken at Lee who drew a kunai from its holster and deflected the stars with ease.

Lee's eyes widened as Sasuke appeared in front of him, his foot striking him in the chin and sending him into the air.

'_This is the lotus!'_ Lee thought, slightly panicked knowing how destructive the technique is.

Sasuke appeared beneath him grinning, using the shadow of the dancing leaf technique.

'_That time, he copied me?'_ Lee wondered.

Lee grit his teeth as Sasuke's foot slammed into his stomach sending him towards the ground. '_No, this isn't the lotus!'_

As Sasuke's next hit came at him, Lee caught the strike and using their momentum, reversed their positions.

Sasuke had no time to react as Lee's foot dug into his stomach just as he hit the ground.

The ground buckled slightly beneath Sasuke as the full force of Lee's kick hit him.

Lee rolled to the ground and jumped to his feet, falling into his Goken pose.

Sasuke struggled to his feet, a slight amount of blood trailing down his chin.

'_This guy managed to stop my lion's combo… Damn it he's good.'_ Sasuke thought as he wiped his chin.

His crimson eyes bore into Lee, however Lee was not looking at his eyes but at his feet.

'_Dammit… I can't use Genjutsu on him either as he isn't meeting my eyes.'_

"Well Sasuke, is that all you can do against me? I was hoping to use some of my more advance techniques."

Sasuke bit his tongue, knowing he was trying to get a rise out of him.

'_I could use my dragon flame technique again, but I want to conserve my chakra for when I face Naruto… But that might not be an option.'_

"This isn't over Lee" Sasuke said. Suddenly, the two disappeared in a display of speed, only reappearing when the two traded blows.

* * *

The Kazekage was impressed. The odd boy was giving Sasuke a run for his money and had not even used any ninjutsu. He knew of course, that Rock Lee had no talent for anything but Taijutsu, but it surprised him still.

"You have some exceptional Genin this year Hokage-dono."

Hiruzen nodded at this. "Each generation of shinobi is set to surpass the previous generation."

The Kazekage said nothing at this, but continued to watch as Lee and Sasuke traded blows.

The rest of the audience cheered on each of the boys as the battle raged on, neither side seemed to be able to gain ground over the other. An explosion rang out as Sasuke unleashed the same technique that had conquered Neji Hyuga, but Lee had been fast enough to escape the blast.

Tenten was amazed at how well Lee was doing against the Uchiha when Neji had failed against the boy.

Ino sat there, her mouth open in awe as she couldn't keep track of their movements.

'_This is what Sasuke is capable of… Naruto is right, if I had gone up against him, I'd be taken apart.'_

She glanced over at Naruto who seemed focused on the match, a smile on his face as his eyes darted back and forth, following the two in the arena.

'_If he can keep track of them, then Naruto is probably on their level as well… To think that the dobe from the academy can keep track of that kind of speed.'_

Kakashi was also impressed at the boy his student was currently fighting. '_I pushed Sasuke to the limit and beyond and it seems he's equal to Sasuke, I definitely made a miscalculation. I meant to make him stronger.'_

Glancing at his subordinate he was pleased to see that Naruto could keep up with the two. He had shown some amazing speed in the past, but the battle before them was faster then he had seen Naruto perform.

"He's going to lose" Naruto muttered.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. "Lee?"

Naruto shook his head. "Sasuke… Unless he has some technique that can counter Lee's next move he's going to lose. They're even right now, but Lee is going to go further in a bit."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. '_The Goken style uses the eight inner gates from what I've seen with Gai, but he wouldn't be so reckless as to teach Lee how to open more than two gates… Would he?'_

* * *

Sasuke went flying back as Lee's foot connected with his face.

He skidded to a stop and stared angrily at Lee.

'_This isn't good, we're completely even so far, and yet he's been able to land more hits that I have. Even with my Sharingan, it's becoming more and more difficult to avoid his hits.'_

Lee smiled at Sasuke. "You are indeed formidable. To think a month ago I was able to defeat you with little effort, you truly are an amazing Shinobi. However, it is time for me to show you a technique that will finish you!"

Sasuke's fist tightened. '_I'd use the Chidori to end this, but Kakashi ordered me to never use it against a leaf shinobi.'_

Lee loosened the wrappings around his arms before crouching slightly, his arms crossed in front of him.

The air began to ripple around him and loose dirt and rock began to rise around him.

'_What is this?'_ Sasuke wondered. His Sharingan saw that Lee's chakra network began to overflow with chakra.

"THIRD GATE, GATE OF LIFE! OPEN!"

Lee shot forward and clipped Sasuke with a right hook.

Sasuke flew back before suddenly he was launched into the air as Lee appeared behind him.

Then he was flying back to the ground as Lee appeared again.

'_This speed! What the hell is this!?'_ Sasuke knew he couldn't keep up as he felt himself being tossed around like a rag doll.

For what seemed like an hour for Sasuke, he was being pummeled by Lee.

Then suddenly, it stopped and he hit the ground, unable to move. A wave of pain crashed over him as he lay there for a moment. His vision began to dim and the last thing he noticed was how blue the sky was.

'_Dammit… I wasn't strong enough… I'm sorry Naruto; I can't fight you this time.'_

The crowd roared as Genma declared Rock Lee as the winner of the match.

Kakashi sighed. He had lost a fair amount of money from betting on Sasuke to win the match. '_I wonder just how many gates he can open.'_

Naruto sighed. "Too bad… I wanted to show Sasuke the new techniques I learned."

The healers marched onto the field and took Sasuke's limp form away on a stretcher.

"The healers will take care of him. He'll be up and running soon enough." Kakashi said nonchalantly. "I think it's your turn though."

Naruto nodded and he glanced over at where Hinata sat beside her father.

'_So I have to fight Hinata eh? I wonder how strong she is now.'_ Naruto wondered.

He began walking away when Ino called out to him. He turned and looked at her.

"Good luck Naruto, make sure you get farther than Sasuke and me" she sounded as if she was giving him an order.

Naruto considered her for a moment before smiling at her. "Sure."

Ino smiled as well and leaned back in her seat.

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. '_Well well… It seems Inoichi's daughter is taking an interest. I wonder what Sasuke would think of this… Or Sakura for that matter.'_

* * *

Hiashi Hyuga was worried. His oldest daughter was about to face off against the Kyubi Jinchuriki. A month ago he might not have been so worried about her prospects; however from what he had been hearing around the village as well as his fights in the exams that he had observed, the boy had become quite a Genin since the academy.

He had given Hinata advice to go all out as quickly as possible and close off his Tenketsu before Naruto could have a chance to take her down.

Hinata had been more nervous than before as the match began to approach and Hiashi could do nothing to calm her nerves.

"Watch closely Hanabi… We shall see if Hinata can overcome her emotions and fight against that which she holds… dear."

Hanabi nodded silently, knowing what her father meant.

* * *

Naruto stood in the arena, watching as Hinata slowly emerged from the dark hallway into the same arena.

When she finally reached the middle, she looked extremely nervous, her two index fingers poking against one another.

Naruto noticed how she avoided his gaze as the proctor announced for the two of them to begin.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto called out.

She glanced at him. "Just relax Hinata. You've gotten this far in the exams and have done great; this is just another challenge for you. Give it your all; I want this to be a good match not just for the audience, but for the two of us." He smiled at her, a wide smile that caused Hinata to flush.

"N…Naruto-kun… I just wanted to say… Ever since the academy, y…you've inspired me… To become a great Shinobi… To never give up…"

Naruto laughed. "Never give up! That's the way to do it!"

Hinata allowed herself a small smile. '_Naruto-kun… I will not hold back, I want to show you how far you've helped me…'_

Concentrating her chakra, she activated her Byakugan.

She was shocked however when she saw Naruto's chakra network.

'_His Tenketsu! My Byakugan can't pinpoint them! What's going on?'_

Naruto grinned when she activated her Byakugan. "It's not going to be that easy" he said as he shot forward.

Hinata swatted away Naruto's fist so that it sailed past her head harmlessly.

She went in for a palm strike that Naruto side stepped, countering with a round house kick which Hinata dodged by bending backwards.

Naruto was surprised at her flexibility.

Taking a step forward towards Naruto to get in his guard, she went for where she assumed a Tenketsu in his arm might be and struck at it quickly.

She winced as the small chakra amounts she released seemed to rebound back through her fingers, giving her a bit of a nasty shock. Naruto grinned as she winced and used it to his advantage to kick her away.

Hinata grit her teeth as she skidded away, thankfully staying on her feet.

'_Why did that happen?'_ Hinata wondered.

Naruto glanced down at where she had struck him and saw that his jacket was unharmed.

'_Thank you Ero-sennin.'_ He thought as he recalled the day he got the jacket.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

Naruto watched as Jiraiya presented him with a brown leather jacket.

"That seems kinda impractical…" Naruto deadpanned.

Jiraiya simply laughed. "This is a special jacket. The leather is fairly thin so it won't impede your movements, so you'll still be able to move regularly. The special part is the multitude of seals we'll be putting on it to help you out."

Naruto took the jacket from him. "What are the seals going to do to help me out?"

Jiraiya grinned. "Well as a sensory shinobi, you know that being detected by other sensors can be a problem, so it'll mask your chakra from anyone trying to find you. Also, you may have to fight against either the Uchiha, or the Hyuga. The seals will help prevent the Sharingan from seeing your chakra flow while the Hyuga will still be able to see the flow of chakra but the Tenketsu won't be visible."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. This was a handy jacket for the exams. "It won't do much good in the field as the Sharingan and the Byakugan are only found in Konoha."

Jiraiya huffed at this. "There are still rogue ninja that have other Doujutsu that the jacket could help you against."

Naruto nodded as Jiraiya took the jacket from him and laid it on the ground. Using a thin kunai, Jiraiya cut at the seams on the jacket, taking it apart. "Also, we're going to put a secondary seal on top and fill it with some chakra. This way if you fight a Hyuga, when they use their technique against you, it'll give some backlash. That won't last forever so don't depend on that working for very long."

Naruto sat beside the old man as he pulled out an ink well and a brush.

"Let's begin."

_**Flashback end**_

* * *

Naruto shot forward, not fearing Hinata's techniques.

They began to trade blows, as Sasuke and Neji had done earlier that day.

With a sweeping motion, Hinata jumped over Naruto aiming a strike at Naruto's exposed neck. Naruto dropped to the ground and rolled away, running through hand seals for his fireball jutsu.

As Hinata landed, she began to spin for her rotation technique while Naruto's fireball roared towards her.

The two techniques clashed and Naruto grinned as he remembered Sasuke's fight against Neji.

'_Although this isn't over yet…'_

Naruto made his cross sign and six Naruto's appeared around him.

With a nod, the six clones shot towards the Hyuga girl as the fireball technique disappeared and Hinata's rotation ended.

Up in the stands Hiashi frowned.

"Hinata is doing very well against Uzumaki" Hanabi said, a small smile playing at her features.

"Hinata is going to lose." Hiashi stated.

Hanabi looked to her father. "What do you mean?"

"His Tenketsu have not been struck. He has used some sort of seal to hide them away so that Hinata cannot effectively close off his chakra network."  
Hanabi's head snapped back to the battle raging before her as she activated her Byakugan.

"What kind of seal can do that?" she asked her father as she found he was correct.

"It had to have been made prior to the match in the event he was to fight Neji or Hinata. He had enough foresight to do such a thing which impresses me. It must be either on his body, or his clothes."

Hanabi was impressed. Her sister was basically fighting blind against the boy. The Byakugan was an essential part of their Taijutsu, without it there was little they could do.

Hinata back tracked as the clones attacked her from various angles; however she was able to fend them off with little difficulty.

'_Naruto-kun has become very fast with his Taijutsu… However that is irrelevant against the Juken. Once within a certain range, I can track their movements with my eyes and quickly counter them… However, Naruto-kun is amazing that he has not sustained any damage…'_

She bit her lip as she swatted away a kick from one of the clones before pushing it back with a flurry of strikes.

Behind her, she saw two of the clones making a bee line towards her.

Doing something unconventional, she dropped to the ground and swept the Naruto clone's feet from under him. Without pausing, she spun around and grabbed the clone by its ankles and threw him at the other two clones.

The three of them collided painfully before poofing out of existence.

Naruto's eyes widened from where he stood watching.

"That was different" he said, his mouth slightly agape.

The other three clones took a few steps back.

'_She's trying something new since nothing has worked so far… I didn't think that the Hyuga tried anything other than their gentle fist stuff…'_ Narrowing his eyes he decided that he needed to stop pussy footing around the situation. '_I didn't want to hurt her, but I guess there's no other way. Stupid of me to try and find a way to restrain her…'_ He swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. He had always liked Hinata. Sure she was weird, quiet and shy. She always seemed to stutter when she noticed that he was around, but she had been nice to him during their days at the academy, never laughing at him or berating him.

"Hinata, I just want to say, that I'm sorry" he declared.

Hinata seemed confused.

"I wasn't taking you seriously… I thought that maybe I could just restrain you like I did with that weasel thing my last opponent summoned… But you're a lot stronger than I realized and now I have to start fighting back with my real strength. I didn't want to hurt you, since, I consider you a friend!"

A murmur ran through the crowd at this.

Hinata blushed. '_H…He thinks of me as a friend?'_ She smiled, his acknowledgement causing her spirits to soar.

"You really surprised me by stepping away from your Juken for a moment there, and that's when I realized that you're stronger than anyone's realized. You have a lot more to show me in this fight, but I need to end this."

'_In case I need to use _that_ technique against Gaara.'_ Naruto took a deep breath and made a cross seal.

Fifty clones appeared around him.

"When you wake up, we'll have to train together some time!"

Hinata fell into her Juken stance. "N…Naruto… I will not fail…"

She smiled, knowing that in the end, Naruto, the one she had admired from a far, the one who had come so far in such a short amount of time was going to win.

The clones rushed her as the original Naruto stood back and watched as his clones swarmed her.

She fell back into a new stance, her eyes closed for a moment.

"**Hakke Rokujūyon Shō**!" She stepped forward as the first few clones entered within range of her divination, ready to strike them down.

Just as she began to deliver the first of the strikes, hers eyes widened as she saw the chakra within the clones swell.

Five clones right next to Hinata exploded violently, sending dust into the air.

There was a brief interval where the other clones stopped for a moment. Naruto watched stoically for a moment before shifting his foot. The motion prompted the other clones to rush forward again. Another five went off, then another five.

Each time, a few seconds would pass before the next group shot forward and did the same.

Kakashi paled at the sight. '_That's a devastating move, especially for Naruto… The amount of clones he can create is amazing. Now that he knows this technique he could take down a platoon of Chunin quickly if they weren't careful.'_

Hiashi stood up, his fist tightened as he watched the explosions fill the arena.

Hanabi looked away, not wanting to see what would happen to her sister.

The final set of explosions died off, leaving the stadium unnaturally quiet.

Nobody seemed to move as the dust began to settle. Many people began to strain their eyes, to get a glimpse of Hinata to see if she was alive or dead.

Naruto had disappeared from where he had previously stood as the explosions had erupted.

Then, they saw it. Where Hinata had been when the first clones exploded, stood Naruto, Hinata unconscious in his arms.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma announced, appearing behind him.

He glanced at the Genin being held by Naruto.

'_Well, she isn't too injured. Some burns and bruises… Maybe some broken bones, nothing that can't be healed quickly.'_ Genma smiled. '_The boy showed restraint. He didn't detonate the clones within the kill radius. Just far enough away to knock her around a lot. No wonder he made so many, just five wouldn't have been enough to knock her out doing it that way.'_

The two Kage watching were of the same opinion.

'_Naruto-kun has really learnt how to use his clones effectively. Not only that but he knew enough about his technique to not permanently harm Hinata. He has grown so much since he was told of Minato. I am proud of him.'_

The Kazekage leaned forward. '_The boy continues to impress me… This match will definitely be one to enjoy.'_

Naruto lowered Hinata onto the gurney that lay before him. Medic ninja quickly shooed the boy away before taking her off the field and off to the medical wing.

Naruto watched their retreating forms, smiling as he thought of Hinata. '_She's changed since the academy. She was so shy and timid… But fighting her now, I see that she's changing. Just like me.'_ He turned and looked up at the crowd, scanning for someone. Finally, he locked eyes with the Hokage. '_Old man… That job will be mine!'_ he thought with such force, he entertained the brief thought that the Hokage could hear him. He was taken aback slightly when the Hokage gave him a knowing nod, as if to say he did not doubt it.

Turning back around, he locked eyes with his next opponent.

'_The Ichibi Jinchuriki… Gaara. It's that time I guess.'_ Naruto thought.

* * *

Ino wiped her forehead. To think that she thought she could contend with Naruto if she had to fight him by some chance. That technique would have decimated her and she was surprised that Hinata had lived. Her father had explained to her what Naruto had done to ensure that Hinata was perfectly safe.

'_I would have kicked his ass if he had risked her life needlessly… I mean, she's one of us after all!'_

However a new feeling began to settle over her. She watched as Gaara appeared on the field in front of Naruto in a flurry of sand.

'_This guy nearly killed Sakura, and Shikamaru and Shino both quit against him… If those two thought this guy was trouble, Naruto might be in danger.'_

Glancing at her father, she noticed the look in his eyes as he watched the two boys.

'_He knows something about him… He's nervous, expecting something'_ Ino analyzed. '_If something goes wrong, it's like he might intervene'_ Ino realized. She looked back at Gaara and felt a shiver run up her spine.

Kakashi noticed Ino's reaction from where he stood. '_She's a sharp one… She knows that her father and possibly other Jonin are waiting for something to happen…'_

He shifted slightly as he heard someone behind him.

"Sasuke, welcome back. You're just in time for Naruto's third match."  
Sasuke grunted, not feeling particularly happy at being beaten.

He looked down at the field and flopped into a seat beside Kakashi that was empty.

'_So Naruto is facing Gaara… Just what he wanted… To get revenge for Sakura.'_

He glanced at Kakashi and noticed he seemed unusually tense.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"Hm? Oh, just eager for Naruto's match to start. The anticipation is killing me" Kakashi said with a wave of his hand.

Sasuke returned his attention back to Naruto and Gaara. '_I hate being lied to… Especially by someone who's so bad at it.'_

* * *

Sakura tried to lean forward to get closer to the television but winced in pain as her body protested against her. She had been unable to tear herself away from the screen throughout Sasuke's matches as well as Naruto's.

But this one was made her feel uneasy. She remembered how Gaara's sand had shielded him from any attack thrown at him from her as well as from his two opponents earlier that day.

"Naruto, you have to be careful… Otherwise, he might kill you." She whispered to no one.

She grasped the blanket that covered her and bit her lip. Despite all of her arguments with the blonde, she felt he had become important to her and she couldn't bear to see something bad happen to him.

"Please… Give up… Don't let him kill you." She whispered.

* * *

The classroom was cheering as the camera focused on Naruto's face.

Konohamaru sat in a corner cheering Naruto's name but quickly fell silent at Iruka's glare.

'_Shouldn't have gotten caught placing bets with the others…'_ the boy thought to himself.

The others had been allowed out of their corners, however since Konohamaru was the instigator of it all, he was to be punished longer.

However that didn't matter to him, he had a great view of the screen that was featuring his rival.

'_Naruto, be careful against him.'_ Iruka thought as he watched the screen pan out so that both opponents were seen staring at one another.

* * *

The match had already started, but the two of them had just stared each other down for a few minutes, neither of them speaking.

Finally, it was Naruto who broke the silence.

"I'm going to cause you a world of hurt for what you did to Sakura…"

Gaara said nothing, but his eyes did seem to darken for a moment.

"I just thought you should know why I'm going all out on you when I held back so much against the others."

Gaara folded his arms.

"I will kill you Naruto Uzumaki…" the sand Genin stated, as if it were a simple fact.

Naruto snorted. "Why? Cause you've never been hit before? That'll change."

Gaara did not respond and the two went back to staring for a moment.

"After I've killed you, I'll find the Uchiha, and kill him as well." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll kill this Sakura you keep talking about. Then the boy in green and eventually, everyone in this village."

Naruto clenched his fist. '_I guess I'll just have to beat it into his head that as long as I'm here, he won't touch anyone…'_

Naruto smirked. "Only if you can beat me. If I beat you though, I'm making sure we change that attitude of yours!"

Gaara's eye twitched. '_What a strange boy…'_ he thought. '_I will enjoy crushing his body…'_

Suddenly the cork on his gourd shot out at Naruto who cart wheeled out of the way.

Suddenly, a wave of sand loomed over the blonde boy. He shot backwards as the wave crashed over where he had been a split second ago.

'_He's not wasting any time!'_ Naruto thought as he drew a kunai and threw it at Gaara.

The blade was stopped as sand shot up in front of the boy and caught it. Just as it halted its progress, the blade exploded.

Naruto was forced to duck under a tendril of sand that aimed for his neck.

Rolling to the side, he jumped as sand seemed to surround him.

A clone appeared underneath Naruto and he used it as a springboard to gain even more altitude.

He floated for a moment as he saw that Gaara was unharmed from his exploding kunai.

'_Guess I'll have to do what Lee would do… Hit him up close with some Taijutsu. After all, his sand didn't seem that fast.'_

As he fell to the ground, the sand seemed to gather beneath him before suddenly forming a together, creating what Naruto would describe as a patch of spikes waiting to impale him.

He ran through a few quick hand seals.

"**Kirigakure no Jutsu**" a mist began to envelope the area when Naruto formed a few more seals before holding out his hand. The mist seemed to draw towards Naruto's hand as water formed and began to swirl.

"**Suiton: Hahonryū**" the vortex of water destroyed the sand spikes, allowing Naruto to land harmlessly.

With a grin, he quickly disappeared.

Gaara narrowed his eyes when he saw that Naruto could not be seen.

Suddenly, he felt an odd sensation in the back of his head as he was lifted off of his feet and shot towards the wall. It felt very unpleasant… In fact… It hurt. This was when Gaara realized that he had been struck there by Naruto.

Naruto's grin widened when Gaara's body hit the stone wall.

"I take it this is the first time you've been hit before?" he asked.

Gaara had fallen to the ground after his impact and it took a minute for him to stand up. Turning around, he glared at Naruto. His skin seemed to be falling off, but there was another layer of skin.

Naruto grit his teeth. '_Damn. He's wearing some kind of armor made of sand. So his regular sand isn't his only defense. No wonder this guy has never been hurt before.'_

He cracked his knuckles as Gaara's sand formed around him and seemed to repair his thin layer of sand armor.

"I guess I'll just have to beat it off of you!"

He disappeared again. Gaara flinched as he knew that his sand could not protect him against the boy.

Naruto reappeared beside him and sent him flying with a right hook.

Gaara grunted as he flew to the side. Naruto was about to charge after him when the sand sprung up in front of him and tried grabbing him, forcing him to jump back again to avoid it.

'_This sand is really annoying.'_ Naruto thought as he avoided another few tendrils of sand.

'_This Gaara guy is really strong…'_ he glanced over at the boy to see that his sand armor had begun to come apart again.

'_I've got to keep up my attack though.'_

He disappeared again and Gaara growled in anger. His sand shot towards him, intent on reaching the boy before Naruto did.

Gaara grunted when the blonde appeared before him and hit him with an uppercut, lifting him off of his feet for a brief second.

'_He's really heavy'_ Naruto realized as he whirled around and kicked him away.

Gaara growled as he felt Naruto's foot connect with his stomach.

'_He is very strong… This does not matter though…'_

As he landed, Gaara sprung up to his feet and threw his arm forward.

Naruto yelped as he dodged wave after wave of sand.

"Okay he's getting more aggressive" Naruto grunted.

He quickly preformed a kawarimi when he saw no way of dodging a wave of sand shuriken that had been fired at point blank range.

"That's new" he said to himself.

He jumped back and used chakra to stick to the arena wall as he ran through set of hand again.

He stuck his hand out as it began to swirl with water.

'_Takes a lot more chakra to do this without water around or the hidden mist technique, but I don't have the option of taking my time for that route.'_

He jumped away as another of tendril of sand snaked its way towards him.

Spinning in the air, he fired his water jutsu at the sand that was racing his way.

'_If I get the sand wet that should help slow it down'_ Naruto thought to himself.

The sand suddenly flew apart, letting the water jutsu pass through harmlessly.

Naruto yelled out in frustration.

'_This guy is way too good with that sand!'_ he mentally raged.

The sand reformed into some kind of lance and flew towards Naruto at even greater speeds. Naruto barely dodged it by throwing himself to the side, but felt the sleeve on his jacket tear.

'_Damn, that was too close.'_

Rolling to his feet, he began to charge towards Gaara.

Gaara's arms shot forward and another wave of sand appeared before Naruto.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Naruto yelled as he leapt backwards again. However, he had forgotten about the lance made of sand behind him. It quickly reformed as a tendril and wrapped around Naruto's ankle.

"Oh shit!" Naruto exclaimed as he felt it pull him into the air and swing him around.

Gaara grinned as he tilted his hand to the side. The tendril of sand suddenly changed direction and slammed Naruto into the wall of the arena, shattering the concrete and throwing up a slight dust cloud obscuring Naruto's form.

Gaara's smile quickly vanished when another explosion erupted from the tendril of sand.

'_His kunai have exploding tags wrapped around the hilts…'_ Gaara observed.

The dust and smoke quickly cleared to show Naruto kneeling on the wall, adhering to it with his chakra.

"Gotta say, you're really sneaky with that sand" Naruto called out.

Gaara said nothing but recalled his sand to him.

'_He has something planned.'_

Naruto made the cross sign and suddenly a ring of Naruto's appeared along the arena wall, surrounding Gaara.

"So many clones…" Gaara exclaimed.

Naruto smirked.

"Let's see how you're sand does against this. Half of the Naruto's spread out amongst the ring began to run through hand seals.

"**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**" Gaara's did nothing as his sand rose to defend him, however when he saw the other clone's performing the next technique, he form a quick hand seal.

"**Fūton: Daitoppa**"

The fireball techniques quickly amplified as the wind jutsu fueled their fire and roared throughout the arena. Within a second, all anyone could see were the raging flames of Naruto's technique as they engulfed the stadium.

Kakashi darted forward as did a few other Jonin in other locations, running through hand seals. Ino watched as her dad did the same. She did not hear the name of the jutsu over the roar of the flames, but watched as the flames raged towards the audience but halted just in front of the balconies.

'_Naruto… This is too much!'_ Ino thought as she watched the orange flames fill her vision.

Many of the audience screamed in fright, but quickly settled down when they saw that they were in no danger.

* * *

Jiraiya whistled, impressed that his student's technique had caused a pillar of fire to rise out of the arena and into the sky.

'_This is going to be talked about for a while. That kid has got a knack for destruction that's for sure. His clone technique makes two simple techniques like those into something to be reckoned with!'_

Ibiki stood beside Jiraiya, impressed at how much power the Genin was displaying at the moment.

"This kid just keeps surprising me" he mumbled.

* * *

Naruto ceased the attack as did his clones.

The flames took a moment to die down, but quickly all they could see was smoke and ash.

Naruto glanced around and nodded. His clones all disappeared before he felt a wave of pain crash over him.

'_I need to remember not to do that again'_ he thought as he clutched his head.

He dropped off of the wall and to the ground. The grass that had once been there was gone, destroyed by his technique.

He frowned, Gaara's chakra was still there, and it seemed to be getting stronger.

"Dammit, it wasn't enough" he frowned as the smoke began to clear. "I thought I could at least cause some injury."

Then he saw it. The sand from Gaara's gourd had enveloped him and created a sphere around him.

'_This guy is really annoying!'_ Naruto thought angrily.

Up in the stands, Ino leaned forward, unable to see anything yet.

"He must have been beaten by that, I mean who could survive that kind of attack?"

Inoichi shook his head. "There are many shinobi that could avoid or protect themselves from that attack and Gaara could be one of them."

Ino pursed her lips. "Well I say he's probably beat!"

Inoichi did not smile but instead focused on the smoke that was beginning to thin.

There stood Naruto, and there was the sphere of sand that protected Gaara.

"Like I said, Gaara could be one of them" Inoichi said.

Ino's jaw dropped. Gaara had protected himself with his sand so quickly.

'_This battle is insane!'_

Sasuke was at the edge of his seat. "Naruto… That technique beats all of my fire techniques…"

Kakashi appeared next to Sasuke again. "It's an effective combination, wind and fire. However, you still have a lot of room to grow Sasuke, you have a natural affinity for fire, and you'll be able to master techniques that make that inferno look no bigger than a campfire."

Sasuke said nothing as he stared at Naruto. '_How much stronger have you become?'_

Naruto felt himself stagger slightly. The exploding clones had taken a lot of chakra to do as the technique was still new for him. Then the combination of his many clones and his wind and fire jutsu hadn't helped his condition.

He waited for a moment to see if Gaara would reemerge from his sphere, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Great… Now I need to break that to get to him." Naruto muttered angrily.

With a few quick hand seals, he had water swirling in his palm again.

"**Suiton: Hahonryū**" the water vortex slammed against the sphere but had no effect against the sand.

Naruto grit his teeth. Shooting forward, he decided to try breaking the sand shield with his Taijutsu.

Just as he got within range to strike, the sand contorted and quickly created spikes that Naruto nearly impaled himself on if not for his quick maneuvering. His fist impacted on the sand that felt as hard as steel at this point. It didn't budge at all. Jumping back as the spikes slowly extended he felt the urge to scream. He hadn't planned on using this technique already but he had no other choice at this point. He jumped back, putting some additional distance between him and the now protected Gaara.

A clone poofed into existence beside him with without prompting.

"Well, it'll give them a good show" Naruto sighed.

Naruto held out his hand as his clone began to work his own two hands above Naruto's palm.

Chakra began to form in his palm as the audience gasped.

Inoichi's eyes widened. "That jutsu! He knows that?!"

Ino glanced at her father. "What is it?"

"It's one of the Yondaime Hokage's techniques" Kakashi's voice answered. Ino looked over at the man and saw that he too looked surprised, even with the mask on.

"My own technique the Chidori was derived from this jutsu, but pales in comparison."

The crowd began to murmur as the blonde formed the powerful ball of chakra.

The Hokage had stood at this point, astounded that no only had Jiraiya taught the boy the jutsu, but that Naruto had been able to learn it within a month.

'_It took the Yondaime three years to complete that jutsu… Naruto, I have underestimated you. We all have.'_ The Sandaime thought.

The Kazekage also felt dumbfounded. '_The Rasengan!? This Jinchuriki was able to learn such a high ranked jutsu?'_

Asuma's cigarette dropped from his mouth as he watched. '_This kid… is something else.'_

He grinned as he reached for his pack of cigarettes.

The crowd began to chant Naruto's name, slowly at first, but quickly it roared throughout the stadium. The blonde had surpassed all of their expectations.

Across the village, those tuning in on their TV's even began chanting his name, watching as the Rasengan, fully formed, swirled in the blonde's palm.

At the academy, the students had all fallen silent, awed at the jutsu they did not fully comprehend that was about to be used.

Iruka sat at the front of the class, smiling softly as his one time student stood proudly.

'_You'll make a fantastic Chunin… Naruto.'_

Naruto glared at the ball of sand. '_Let's do this asshole…'_

With that thought, he shot forward, quickly gaining speed, the crowd around him roared, yelling things that he didn't hear, his focus solely on his jutsu.

Things seemed to slow down for everyone. Naruto's face was clear as day, and anyone that looked, could see the determination to win on the boy's face.

His hand shot forward, dodging the spikes that grew yet again from the sphere of sand.

The small ball of swirling chakra slowly plunged into the sand, as if it were nothing more than water.

And then everything stood still. There was silence, the crowd had stopped cheering, all of them looked intently at Naruto and the sphere of sand.

And then, the back of the sphere exploded outward violently, and Gaara's body shot backwards spinning and impacted against the stadium wall with such force, the audience felt their seats tremble.

Their cries echoed again, the jutsu having been a success. Even those that had bet on Gaara were on their feet cheering out the blondes name. The match would be talked about for ages.

How a mere Genin, had gone against the son of the Kazekage, and used a legendary jutsu not seen since the Yondaime Hokage.

Sasuke himself allowed a quick cheer for his teammate's success, having impressed him with such a powerful jutsu.

Ino jumped up and down cheering for her one time classmate.

Inoichi was clapping, a smirk on his face. '_Minato would be proud of you kid.'_

Asuma grinned as did Shikamaru.

Kiba howled from where he sat beside Kurenai and Shino while the bug user remained silent.

Kurenai was simply awed at the power of the jutsu, as having only heard of the Rasengan herself.

Kakashi smiled, glad that his student was progressing so splendidly.

'_Naruto… You're quickly surpassing us all. One day, I won't even be a match for you.'_

Rock Lee and Gai-sensei leapt around much to the crowd's dismay, cheering at the top of their lungs about Naruto's prowess.

Tenten sat amazed at the boy since she had last spared against him. '_Does he train even more than Lee?'_ She briefly wondered.

At the academy, the students had gone insane, throwing papers and such into the air, Iruka however didn't even react to it. He simply stared at the TV, swelling with pride.

Sakura Haruno sat in her hospital bed, hearing many cheers from the hospital staff that were watching the exams as well in other rooms.

'_Naruto… You did it! You beat him! Maybe… Maybe when I'm out of here, you can help me… Become a better shinobi.'_

She smiled and looked outside the window. The day seemed to be a whole lot brighter.

Jiraiya beamed as he heard the crowd's cheers.

'_You've done well, but remember Naruto, you haven't won yet.'_

Naruto did not concern himself with the crowds cheering and continued to stare at the cloud of dust that had been kicked up from Gaara's impact.

'_His chakra… It's still getting stronger'_ his fist tightened. '_This isn't good… I'm starting to run low on Chakra and this guy just keeps taking everything I throw at him.'_

Suddenly, there was a howl of rage that drowned out every other noise in the stadium.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

Naruto quickly drew a kunai, ready to charge when the dust began to clear. Just as it began to clear, feathers began to appear everywhere.

'_Is this Gaara doing this?!'_

He quickly formed the ram seal and expelled a large amount of chakra, just as he was beginning to feel drowsy.

As the feathers seemed to disappear, he heard the hole of wind. Turning he was hit with some kind of wind technique that drove him backwards with force that surpassed his Rasengan. Naruto tried to yell in agony as he felt his back break in several places as well as a few of his limbs, but he was traveling at such a speed it was hard for him to make a sound. '_This is one hell of a wind jutsu!'_ Naruto thought right before he blacked out from the pain.

* * *

The Jonin had quickly dispelled the Genjutsu and had sprung into action. Kakashi glanced at the wall where Naruto had been tossed through. '_I hope he survived that attack… He went straight through the stadium and then some…'_

He glanced down at the field and saw that Gaara had begun to transform. He hadn't fully released the tailed beast, but it seemed he was half way there. He had sprouted a tail from the gourd, a beastly arm in place of his left arm, a contorted claw at the end of it. Half his face seemed deformed at this point, a yellow eye and a new ear. His mouth seemed to be growing fangs of some sort as well and a maniacal expression on his face.

As the Jonin began to surround the Jinchuriki, the Hokage's seats exploded and the Kazekage dragged the man to a separate roof followed by the Kazekage's two guards.

Kakashi cursed as Oto ninja began to appear amongst the crowd.

'_Looks like the Hokage was right… The Sound and sand are invading.'_

He glanced over to see a few sand shinobi appear as well.

'_Naruto… I hope you're okay.'_ He looked over at where Naruto had slammed through the arena.

Gaara had also seemed to disappear at this point. '_What's he going to do now?'_ He glanced at Sasuke.

"Sasuke, I have a mission for you!"

Kakashi whirled around as two Sand ninja attacked and he quickly killed them with well placed Kunai.

"Find Gaara, and stall him, by any means necessary!"

Sasuke nodded, knowing what that meant.

Beside him Jiraiya suddenly appeared. "Try to find Naruto as well" the man said upon appearing.

Kakashi gave him an odd look.

"I taught him a way to restrain and seal a Biju back into its host."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this as he spun around and caught a sound ninja's fist before tossing him into the wall and quickly punching the man's throat in, leaving him flailing on the ground in agony.

"How?!" Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya threw a few kunai to distract a few Oto ninja that were fighting with Asuma and Kurenai.

"It'll take to long to explain, just find him!" Jiraiya retorted. He glanced at Sasuke.

"Go now!"  
Sasuke nodded and jumped into the stadium before running through the hole Naruto's body had created.

Jiraiya glanced up and saw a purple barrier appear.

"Looks like the old man has his hands full with Orochimaru" Jiraiya muttered.

Kakashi whirled around quickly and saw that the Sannin was correct. In the middle of the purple barrier stood Hiruzen facing Orochimaru, wearing the Kazekage's robes.

"Clever move… Impersonating the Kazekage" Kakashi said.

Jiraiya nodded. "Let's make some Kage Bunshin to track Naruto down and then get rid of these guys."

Kakashi nodded.

* * *

Naruto woke up. His surroundings were dark. Sitting up, he saw that he was in front of a large cage, a paper tag at the middle that had the kanji for seal upon it.

"Damn it, just when I need to be awake…" Naruto muttered as he realized where he was.

"**Naruto… Why are you here?**" a low voice rumbled.

A pair of red eyes opened in the darkness beyond the cage, boring into Naruto's blue eyes.

"The Shukaku… It may have caught me by surprise" Naruto huffed.

The fox roared. "**WE HAD A DEAL YOU SIMPLETON!"** Its claws rammed against the cage, rattling it and shaking the entire room, but the cage remained unharmed. Slowly but surely, the Kyubi no Kitsune was revealed in it's entirety as Naruto's eyes adjusted to the dim light.

"It hasn't come out all the way yet… He's just channeling its chakra!" Naruto yelled back. "Plus I still have a chance to beat him so I haven't gone back on our deal you dumb fox!"

The Kyubi snarled at the blonde. "**Do NOT try my patience you fool!"**

Naruto stood up. "I may need you to heal my body quickly, it felt like I got pretty messed up out there… And when the time comes to use _that_ jutsu, I'll call on you okay?"

The Kyubi stood there, glaring at the young boy not answering.

"…Or would you rather the world know that I lost to the one tail Biju when I hold the nine tailed Biju. Like I said when we first met, you may not care what happens to me, but I if I lose against the Shukaku, you'll be considered the weakest of the nine beasts.

The Kyubi snarled again. "**I UNDERSTAND THAT NARUTO! I already told you that I would help you out with this sealing jutsu you have planned, Shukaku is no friend of mine!**"

Naruto grinned. '_To think that pride would be the demon fox's weakest point…'_

"Good, then quickly, heal my body and lend me some chakra so I can get this thing going!"

The Kyubi said nothing as the water around Naruto began to bubble and turn red.

"That's more like it" Naruto said.

* * *

_**And there is the chapter. Yes Naruto and the Kyubi have met before, and they have a plan to deal with Shukaku. Honestly at this stage of their relationship, I feel that blackmailing the Kyubi is the only way Naruto can get the fox to cooperate, and yes I do think the nine tails is a prideful beast. He goes on about how awesome he is in the manga given the chance. Plus it's stated that he considers himself the strongest of the nine biju, and that's why him and Shukaku don't get along well. **_

_**As for Sasuke VS Lee, I think that Lee would have kicked the crap out of Sasuke if they had met up in the finals, and it's just too predictable for Sasuke to win the match. **_

_**I'm sure some people are mad that I interrupted the Gaara/Naruto fight, but there's going to be more in a bit of that. **_

_**Quick spoiler alert for the upcoming chapters, a couple of Naruto's friends will find out about the nine tails in the next chapter or two, so feel free to guess as to who it will be and why.**_

_**Now I shall leave you be, but please remember to review, I do appreciate genuine feedback.**_

_**Have a wonderful day and I hope you are excited for the next chapter.**_


	13. Tough Decisions

_**And here is the newest chapter. Before you start, I just want to thank everyone that has been reading this story. For the first time in years I decided to see the amount of followers on this story… Over 2500? I never expected even that many people to read this story, let alone subscribe to it. So again, thank you to those that have been reading this story. It's truly astounding.**_

_**Now onto the story itself.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 13**_

_**Tough Decisions**_

* * *

Hanabi Hyuga was not a coward and she would never have considered anything frightening.

However, when she had caught sight of Gaara's deformed figure grabbing some random shinobi and tearing him apart, she had felt scared.

When the Genjutsu had started in the stadium, she was one of the few that were not Jonin, to expel the illusion.

Immediately, her father had told her to head towards the Hokage monument where she would be safe with the rest of the villagers that were heading there.

She nodded and had set off, not knowing that Kakashi Hatake had been asked by Hiashi to accompany her.

So when Gaara had rounded on her, she felt as if this moment was indeed her last.

Her eyes had begun to fill with tears, not able to remember her training due to the palpable killer intent the boy was aiming at her.

As he charged her, she heard an odd chirping noise before the boy fell to the ground.

"Well, I was hoping to maybe find Naruto before finding you" Kakashi said as he appeared behind Hanabi.

She stared at the man in awe.

"Keep going, I'll send a clone with you just in case" he smiled at her and she quickly nodded.

Kakashi made a familiar cross seal as an exact copy of him appeared beside her.

"Now go!"

Kakashi shot forward towards the red headed boy who seemed to have forgotten Hanabi.

'_Sasuke had better find Naruto fast. If what Jiraiya said is true, he may be our only shot at beating this guy.'_ Kakashi thought.

Hanabi whirled around and began running through the streets again. She felt something hot running down her cheeks but she did not bother to check. She was sure they were tears.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he sat up, brushing some loose rubble off of his body.

Slowly he stood up, wincing as he felt the wounds that the nine tails was still busy healing.

He glanced around to find he had been thrown into a shop that was currently empty, and slightly demolished.

'_Damn, his attack threw me far. If it wasn't for the fox, I'd be dead.'_

He walked through the large hole in the wall and saw that there was chaos in the streets.

Civilians were fleeing from a small group of sound ninja all in the same uniform that were cutting down anyone unfortunate enough to get near them.

Naruto growled as he shot forward.

He was surprised when the group jumped away from him, landing in defensive positions.

'_Was hoping I'd finish it quickly…'_

He heard an explosion off in the distance.

"Who the hell are you guys?!" he yelled at the group.

One of them sneered at him from behind his mask. "Some Genin thinks he can take us on, pathetic."

"Why are you attacking!?" Naruto yelled.

"It's war dumbass, we attack, you die." One of the others yelled.

Naruto glared at them. "So I guess I'll just have to kill you first won't I?"

They laughed. "As if you could kill us!"

Naruto took a deep breath, knowing that once again, he was going to have blood on his hands. '_At least these guys have a fighting chance.'_

Naruto shot forward, kunai in hand.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka had run into her two teammates and they were currently looking for someone.

"So that Gaara guy is a Jinchuriki?" Shikamaru asked as they crept through an alley.

Ino nodded. "That's what that Jiraiya guy said…"

"And Naruto is the only one that can stop him?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino nodded as she peeked around a corner to see if the coast was clear. She signaled the other two and they ran across the street into another alley.

"Apparently" Ino mumbled.

"How the hell is he supposed to do that? I mean, yes Naruto has gotten stronger than a lot of us, but to take on a Jinchuriki?"

Ino shrugged. "The old guy said he had some kind of sealing jutsu he could use on him."

Shikamaru sighed. "This is such a drag… Having to avoid ninja that are trying to kill us as well as an unstable Jinchuriki just to find someone that might be able to stop him…"

Ino groaned. "I know okay? But what else are we supposed to do? Fight other ninja that are stronger than us? Or maybe fight that Gaara kid ourselves? You saw how quickly he beat everyone else!"

Shikamaru nodded. "I know that… I'm just saying it's troublesome is all."

Ino suppressed the urge to scream. '_God, this lazy good for nothing is not helping the situation!'_

"What happens when we find Naruto?" Choji asked.

Ino stopped for a moment.

"I mean, after what Gaara supposedly did, how did Naruto survive that?"

Ino bit her lip. Choji was right. If what her father had said was true, then Naruto was probably severely injured or dead after being hit through the stadium wall and a few buildings after. Of course that area had quickly been swarmed with sound and sand ninja which had forced them to get to the area in a roundabout way.

"I don't know… Let's just find him okay?" Ino snapped.

"Find who?"

Ino stiffened when she heard a familiar voice. The three of them looked up to see Kankuro, the puppet user that Naruto had defeated in the preliminaries.

"Crap" Ino said.

* * *

Sasuke jumped back as a barrage of shuriken embedded in the ground.

"Another kid thinking he's a Shinobi" the sand shinobi sneered.

Sasuke ground his teeth. "I don't have time for this" he said to himself.

He was currently surrounded by a multitude of Suna shinobi.

'_Ten of them, at least one of them is on level with a Chunin… This is going to be a problem.'_

His fist tightened. '_I could use the Chidori, but how will they counter?'_

He took a step back when suddenly one of the men dropped to the ground.

"What the hell?" the man next to the collapsed shinobi yelled before collapsing to the ground himself.

The remaining Shinobi suddenly fell to the ground without another word.

"What just happened?" Sasuke wondered aloud.

"Clearly, these Shinobi are not educated as to how the Aburame work" Shino said as he appeared beside Sasuke.

'_Shino…'_ Sasuke realized.

"You are looking for Naruto correct?" Shino asked.

Sasuke nodded.

"Then I shall help you… I wish we could track him, but his chakra is masked and therefore my Kikaichu cannot track him. So we shall have to head in the direction he was thrown."

Sasuke nodded. "Well this'll make things much easier."

"Then let us be off" Shino said.

* * *

The Third Hokage grit his teeth as he glared at his one time student.

Between them stood his two predecessors, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.

'_Dammit Orochimaru… To think you would summon these two of all people with such a despicable technique. I may have to use the Yondaime's jutsu to defeat them. Today may in fact be the end of my life…'_

He glanced at the barrier and saw Jiraiya inspecting the purple wall.

'_Unless Jiraiya can figure a way through that barrier jutsu…'_

"I'll hold out for as long as I can, but if this fight drags on, I will use that technique to seal these two away, as well as Orochimaru" Hiruzen mumbled to himself as he tore off his Hokage robes, revealing the black battle outfit beneath.

"You will not succeed in destroying the leaf!" The Third Hokage declared.

Orochimaru simply chuckled. '_Interesting, he is not the least bit worried at the prospect of fighting the Senju brothers.'_

"Well then sensei, let us see if your faith is misplaced."

* * *

Hanabi was getting closer to the monument and could make out the staircase against the rock in the distance.

She allowed herself a glimmer of hope. '_I'm in the clear!'_

As she rounded a corner, the wall of a shop exploded apart, sending rubble everywhere.

She skidded to a stop, fearing what was about to happen when she heard a familiar voice.

"RASENGAN!" Another portion of the wall exploded out, forcing Hanabi to dive out of the way as a large rock nearly hit her.

Rolling to her feet, she saw a figure in the dust.

She struck her family Taijutsu stance, ready to fight if need be.

As the dust cleared, it revealed one Naruto Uzumaki, sporting a leather jacket that was barely together at this point.

He seemed to be trying to catch his breath.

"Are… are you alright?" he panted.

She nodded as she stood straight, her normal demeanor returning.

"You are the Uzumaki correct?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, that's me." He doubled over for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. "Shouldn't you be hiding or something right now?" he asked as he looked up at her from his current position.

She nodded. "I'm trying to get to the shelter right now with the civilians and academy students."

Naruto glanced towards the Hokage Monument, fully aware of the procedure during such an event.

"I can send help if you need it" Naruto offered when he suddenly sensed something familiar.

Kakashi suddenly appeared next to Hanabi.

"Sorry for not appearing earlier, had to double back to take care of two sound ninja that were tailing us" the clone said.

"Kakashi? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Kakashi was about to answer when an explosion echoed from down the street.

Naruto whirled around to see that a large snake had just been summoned.

"Holy shit!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi withdrew a kunai. "It's okay sensei, I've got it!" Naruto said as he held an arm in front of the clone. "Besides, you're low on chakra as it is; any more jutsu and I bet you'd disappear."

"You know I'm just a Kage Bunshin?" the clone asked.

Naruto nodded. "I use it all the time after all" he smiled. "Give me a second."

He glanced down at his sleeve and frowned. "I was really starting to like this jacket as well… Damn." He quickly took it off and threw it aside. He bit his thumb, drawing blood and ran it across a tattoo on his left forearm.

'_A summoning tattoo, no wonder he was able to summon without me tracking the hand seals in his match against Temari, he didn't use any.'_ The Kakashi clone analyzed.

The tattoo was an interesting one, completely black, it was a small toad, its mouth open and its tongue circling his arm to come back to the image of the toad.

Slamming his hand on the ground, a large explosion of smoke nearly knocked Kakashi and Hanabi off of their feet.

The snake turned towards the disturbance and hissed.

The smoke faded, leaving the form of a large toad in its place.

"I need you're help Gamaken!" Naruto yelled from atop its massive head.

"Very well Naruto-san, but I apologize in advance, for I am quite clumsy."

Naruto said nothing, but Kakashi could see Naruto shake his head.

'_Summons are always interesting…'_ Kakashi thought with a smile.

Twirling his Sasumata with surprising grace, Gamaken seemed to dance towards the snake which had begun to smash buildings around it in order to toss at the giant toad.

Gamaken quickly deflected the oncoming remains of the buildings aside using his weapon with ease.

As he struck the last oncoming building, the giant snake lunged forward at the toad.

"KEN!" Naruto yelled as a warning, however the toad had already seen the attack.

Bringing up his shield, the snake rammed its head into the defense, roaring all the while.

Gamaken pushed forward, unbalancing the snake before lifting his shield and kicking the snake in the head with his webbed foot.

The snake flew backwards, destroying buildings as it landed before disappearing in a plumb of smoke.

Naruto sighed and looked out across the village. '_No… There's more!?'_ As far out as the village wall to just a few streets away, were more of the snake summons, some of them sporting three heads or two.

"Dammit… This is bad… Gamaken, would you mind helping us out a bit?" Naruto asked.

Gamaken looked around the village at the sight before them. "I will do what I can Naruto-san."

Naruto nodded. "I'll have to leave it to you and some clones, I have to find the Suna Jinchuriki and stop him before he does too much damage.

Gamaken said nothing for a moment. "So, the Ichibi Jinchuriki fighting the Kyubi Jinchuriki?"

Naruto nodded. "Seems that way." Naruto hopped off of Gamaken's head and landed on one of the few intact buildings nearby.

He quickly called a few clones forth. "I'll have one of them accompany you while the others fan out and track down Gaara for me. I'm going to help her get to the others."

Gamaken nodded again as one of the clones jumped up onto his shoulder.

"Thanks again Gamaken."

With that said, Gamaken leaped away, towards the closest snake.

The other clones all scattered away in different directions.

The original Naruto leapt down and landed before the Kakashi clone and Hanabi.

"W…what's a Jinchuriki?" Hanabi asked the Kakashi clone. Naruto smacked his forehead. '_Dammit Gamaken… You just had to say that loud enough for the girl to hear.'_

Kakashi looked towards Naruto. "Uh… It's complicated…" the man replied.

"It means human sacrifice. A Jinchuriki is an individual that has had a Biju sealed within their body" Naruto explained quickly. The girl looked somewhat intelligent and Naruto didn't feel like beating around the bush at the moment. "The red headed sand Genin is the Jinchuriki of the Ichibi."

Hanabi stared at Naruto for a moment. "And when the frog said he was going to fight the Kyubi Jinchuriki he meant you?"

Naruto nodded. "You seem like a smart girl, so know that what you have been told is an S ranked secret. If you reveal it to anyone else, it's a severe punishment."  
Hanabi nodded. "I have a question though… Why does everyone say that the Yondaime Hokage killed the Kyubi if it's just inside of you?"

Naruto sighed. '_We're in the middle of a war and I'm stuck playing twenty questions.'_

"It was a lie. The Sandaime Hokage knew of how Jinchuriki are usually treated in their villages, and to protect me, he made it so that nobody knew that the Kyubi still existed."

Hanabi nodded. "I see… I have many more questions that I would like to ask of you in the future if we are to survive this… Is that okay?"

Naruto sighed. "Yeah yeah, let's just get you going already" he picked the small girl up and threw her over his shoulder as she squealed, surprised at what had just happened.

"Hey! I'm perfectly capable of walking!" Hanabi protested, pounding her fists on Naruto's back.

"This is faster so just shut it!" Naruto snapped as he began running forward, the Kakashi clone beside him.

"So where's the real you?" Naruto asked.

"Fighting Gaara" Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

"W...what?!" Naruto exclaimed, nearly tripping.

"Watch it!" Hanabi snapped from where she was slung.

"I said shut it kid!" Naruto snapped.  
Hanabi didn't reply.

"So where is that?" Naruto asked.

"Right now? No idea, however we can go back to where I last saw them when we drop her off."

Naruto nodded. "So Ero-sennin told you about my technique?"

"He mentioned it briefly but not in any detail… So you can really restrain the Ichibi?"

They rounded a corner and jumped over a large pile of debris.

"Right now? No. Gaara needs to fully release the Biju in order for the technique to work. As far as I can tell, he hasn't done that yet."

"You can sense him?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, he's too far away right now, but Ero-sennin told me that when a Biju's full power is released, every sensor type Shinobi in the area will be able to feel its power… That and a Biju is usually as big as Gamaken at least."

Kakashi chuckled at this. "That's an understatement."

Naruto grunted as they had to scale the wall of a toppled building.

"Be careful!" Hanabi grunted.

"Yeah yeah, sorry" Naruto sighed. "Why couldn't Gamaken have just kept his mouth shut about the whole Jinchuriki thing?"

Kakashi laughed. "Luck is rarely on our side."

"I said I'll keep it a secret" Hanabi said from behind.

"What's your name anyways?" Naruto asked as they reached the staircase that led to their destination.

"Hanabi Hyuga" she said, pride evident in her voice.

"Like Hinata and that Neji guy?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, Hinata is my sister."

As they ran up the stairs, Naruto became very silent.

'_He's worried that Hanabi might slip up to Hinata.'_

An explosion rang out across the village, some screams in the distance followed.

Naruto increased his speed up the stairs.

"I can get there on my own from here" Hanabi said from Naruto's back. Naruto stopped suddenly, causing Hanabi to squeal yet again.

"You sure?" Naruto asked. Hanabi could hear how anxious he was to go fight the invaders.

"Yes I am sure Uzumaki-san." Naruto set her down and considered her for a moment.

Another explosion echoed causing Naruto to look out at the village. In the distance, he could see Gamaken heading towards another snake, having taken care of one of them already.

"I'll see you when this is all finished and we can talk more about this secret and what accompanies it, with the Hokage there." Naruto turned and met her eyes at the last part to drive his point home, just in case.

Hanabi did not seem the least bit worried at the prospect and merely nodded.

"Okay then, stay safe."

With that, Naruto and the Kakashi clone jumped off of the stairway and plummeted towards the ground.

Hanabi watched as they landed lightly before taking off through the village.

'_That explains quiet a bit about him…_' Hanabi thought to herself as she watched the younger boy run off.

* * *

"So while we're searching for the real me, mind explaining the details of this Fuinjutsu to me?" Kakashi asked Naruto as they progressed forward.

Naruto nodded. "It's a jutsu only I can use, both because of the Kyubi, and that I'm an Uzumaki."

Kakashi nodded. "I take it that it requires both the Kyubi's chakra and the Uzumaki clan's unique chakra?"

"Basically. Now I guess my mother's chakra was very unique, even for an Uzumaki which allowed her to use a special technique if the Kyubi ever were to get free. Even though I don't have the same chakra as she does, we can replicate the technique using seals, my own chakra, and the Kyubi's chakra. But in order for that to work, the Biju I'm using it against has to be completely unleashed, otherwise it will fail."

"How do you know this is going to work?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto chuckled. "Well, Ero-sennin said it's a slim chance that it won't but he's pretty sure of his technique."

"So it wasn't you that created it?" Kakahsi asked.

Naruto shook his head as they jumped off of the streets and onto the rooftops.

"I guess he's had this in development before we even met. Something about in the event the Kyubi were to ever escape, we could use it to subdue him."

"So it wasn't even designed to be used against a Jinchuriki other than you?" Kakashi asked, his heart dropping.

Naruto laughed. "That's why we use the Kyubi's chakra for this. The seals Jiraiya-sensei had originally developed had to be altered for this technique to utilize the chakra of the Biju to subdue another Biju."

Kakashi nodded. "Do you have the seal on you?"

Naruto lifted his right arm up to reveal a seal tattoo on his wrist.

"This is just a temporary seal to hold the sealing scroll I have."

"So we're using a scroll to seal a Biju?" Kakashi asked, his eyebrow shooting up.

Naruto sighed. "No no… In the scroll are a set of special Kunai with the real sealing formula on them. We use them as conduits for my technique. After that, we simply reseal the Biju into the Jinchuriki host."

"Ah, good." Kakashi said stiffly.

Naruto stared at him for a moment as they jumped to another roof.

"….Did you really think I was dumb enough to try and seal a tailed beast in something as weak as a scroll?"

Kakashi nearly tripped.

"…You're kind of an asshole Kakashi-sensei."

* * *

Shino stopped suddenly for what seemed to be the ninth time.

"What is it now?" Sasuke growled.

Shino glanced in a few directions.

"Are we surrounded?" Sasuke asked in a low voice.

"No… It's Naruto…"

"What about him?" Sasuke asked as he glanced around.

"…It seems he is in multiple directions." Shino stated.

"Damn, he must be using his clone technique to help fight" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "If he keeps this up, he's going to exhaust himself."

"Perhaps… I believe you're sensei may have found the real Naruto though. My Kikaichu are sensing two Kakashi's in the village from my understanding. One is with one of the Naruto's."

"Where's the other?" Sasuke asked.

Shino turned to the Uchiha. "He is fighting an unnatural chakra full of evil… I believe this is Gaara."

Sasuke nodded. "So if Kakashi has already found Naruto what do we do now?"  
A new voice answered.

"YOU DIE!"

The street seemed explode as a gust of wind tore towards the two Genin.

Both managed to dive into an alley beside them to avoid the wind jutsu.

"You couldn't sense her?!" Sasuke yelled as he scrambled to his feet.

"I apologize… I have had my Kikaichu focusing solely on locating Naruto that they have overlooked everything else."

Sasuke glared at the boy. "Well she can't be that hard to deal with… I'm sure she was injured from the fight against Naruto."

They glanced at the end of the alley to find that Temari was glaring at the two of them.

"Bold move, attacking the leaf village" Shino said as his bugs seemed to flow from his sleeves, surrounding the boy.

Sasuke shifted slightly. '_She had some pretty dangerous moves… But I'm sure I can beat her with my fire techniques.'_

Temari glared at the two of them. "What happened with Uzumaki?"

Sasuke grinned. "He was kicking you're friends ass when all of this happened."

Temari sneered at this. "I very much doubt that he could have even touched Gaara."

Sasuke withdrew a kunai and readied himself. "Believe what you want, but you aren't Gaara, and we can beat you easily."

Temari swung her large fan, "We'll see about that!"

* * *

Kakashi Hatake was a superb Jonin of Konohagakure. He had over a thousand different Ninjutsu at his disposal, his Taijutsu was matched only by Maito Gai. He rarely failed a mission and had not been bested by another shinobi in combat for years.

But fighting an unstable Jinchuriki who had no inhibitions about killing innocents was trying his patience.

'_He doesn't tire easily…'_ Kakashi thought as he jumped away from a blast of wind.

Slowly since he had run into him, Gaara had gone from half deformed to a miniature Ichibi.

"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" the boy screeched.

Kakashi felt beads of sweat across his body as he leapt to the safety of a rooftop that was still intact. He had been pushing himself to the limit to avoid the boy's deadly strikes against not only him, but civilians that were trying to flee the area.

That was the worst part. He had wasted plenty of time and chakra just on defending others and made no headway in the fight.

'_I've just got to stall him a bit longer… By then, I'm sure someone will have found Naruto.'_

As he withdrew some Shuriken, his head throbbed for a moment.

'_The clone was killed… Oh, good… Naruto has a plan.'_

He sighed, now having a light at the end of the tunnel was relieving.

"Well, I guess I just need a few more minutes and then we'll have our own Jinchuriki fighting this guy."

He stowed the shuriken and crouched to the ground, going through three hand seals before grasping his wrist.

"That means, I can finally let loose, no need to worry about chakra."

Lightning and chakra flowed around his hand, making an odd chirping noise.

This caught the Suna Jinchuriki's attention.

"There you are!" he called out.

Kakashi stood up. "Here I am…" Kakashi leapt off the building to the ground, lightning trailing behind him.

Gaara shot forward, his claw reared back, ready to cleave the man into pieces.

However, Kakashi had landed before Gaara was halfway to the man.

Using his superior speed, Kakashi ran towards the boy, his technique thrusting forward.

"**RAIKIRI!**"

Gaara howled in agony Kakashi ducked beneath Gaara's claw and tore into his torso.

Kakashi jumped off the street and back to the roof tops before whirling around to see what kind of damage he had dealt the Jinchuriki.

The boy was hunched over in the street howling in agony.

Kakashi sighed as he allowed himself to breath freely for a moment.

He knew that Gaara was going to regenerate quickly, but Kakashi didn't know a way to defeat the boy currently.

"Come on Naruto… Get here fast."

* * *

The door to her room burst open violently and there stood Rock Lee.

"Sakura-chan are you alright?" Lee asked quickly as he approached her bed.

She nodded. "What's going on? I can see explosions not far from here!"

"We are under attack from the sound and the sand villages. I am here to help you get out of here!"

Sakura nodded and winced as she tried to get out of bed. Her body had healed a lot thanks to the hospital staff and their medical jutsu, however she was still very frail at the moment.

Rock Lee rushed to her side and slowly helped her out of her bed. She wore some plain clothes provided by the hospital so that she could walk through the grounds with the aid of crutches, without having to wear the gowns.

"I can't run though" Sakura groaned as she grasped her crutches.

"That is not a problem Sakura-chan! I shall carry you to the monument shelter!" Lee turned and knelt down. Sakura stared at him for a moment. A month ago she would have laughed at the prospect of depending on the boy, however after seeing his fight on the TV, she knew he was a powerful shinobi not to be trifled with. He had after all beaten Sasuke Uchiha.

"Thank you Lee." She slowly crawled onto Lee's back. Once she was properly situated Lee slowly stood up.

"Let us be off then Sakura-chan."

He quickly exited the room and darted down the hall past the hospital staff that were running room to room, gathering patients to take to the shelter.

"Why isn't help here?" Sakura asked Lee.

"The attacks are happening from within the village as well as at the village walls. Also the Hokage is currently trapped in some jutsu with an enemy known as Orochimaru."

Sakura gasped as she heard the name.

The pale face practically flashed before her eyes at the mere mention of his name.

"How are Sasuke and Naruto?" she asked quickly.

Lee jumped over a gurney that was exiting a room before turning down a hall towards the hospital exit.

"Sasuke is fine from what I saw. Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sama have sent Sasuke out to look for Naruto."

"Why? What happened to Naruto? The TV shut off after he hit Gaara with his technique."  
Rock Lee was silent for a moment as they exited the hospital and took off down the street before veering off down an alley.

"Gaara recovered from the technique and hit Naruto with some wind jutsu. He was carried away by the jutsu out of the stadium... We do not know for sure how he is doing. But Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei and Jiraiya-sama all assured us that Naruto was alive and that he must be found. They have sent multiple teams to search for him."  
"Why are they looking for Naruto though? I know he's strong but what can he do in this war that would make him such a priority?"

Lee stopped suddenly and glanced around a corner before taking off down a separate alley.

"It is still something I do not fully understand as I only heard pieces of it. Our senseis were very quiet about it, but I did hear that Naruto has a technique that can defeat Gaara."

Sakura was quiet for a moment as the turned in a new direction. "Why does he need to stop Gaara though?"

"I am unsure… But Jiraiya-sama did refer to him using a word I have not heard before."

"Jiraiya? Of the Sannin?" Sakura asked. "Sorry, you keep mentioning him but I wasn't sure."  
Lee nodded. "Yes that is him. From what I could gather, he has been training Naruto for the past month."

This surprised Sakura. It was no wonder Naruto had learned such a powerful technique.

"What did he call Gaara?"

"Something known as a Jinchuriki." Lee said as he turned unexpectedly.

'_That sounds familiar… But where have I heard that?'_ Sakura wondered.

Suddenly, Lee skidded to a stop. They could hear a rattling noise nearby.

"What is that?" Sakura asked.

Suddenly, a wall exploded and a familiar wooden puppet was flung through it.

"**Nikudan Sensha"**

Choji's techinique was not far behind as it hit the puppet into another wall.

Ino Yamanaka quickly emerged from the hole as well. She spotted Rock Lee and Sakura and quickly waved them over.

"What are you doing here?!" Ino basically yelled at the two.

"I am trying to get Sakura-chan to the shelter!" Lee defended himself, causing Ino to go pink.

"Oh… Okay, I thought you were trying to fight or something."

Shikamaru's voice echoed behind Ino.

"He's coming!"  
Ino whirled around, her hands going through seals.

She spotted the boy that was controlling the puppets trying to jump away from a shadow that was extending towards him.

"**Suiton: Teppōdama!**"

The ball of water rushed at Kankuro who was in midair, unable to dodge the blast.

Suddenly, a large explosion erupted in the building beside Kankuro, throwing him in the air. The shockwave of the blast disrupted the bullet of water, the heat evaporating the water instantly.

Lee looked on in horror as time slowed down. Beside him was Ino who looked on in shock, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Choji, back to his normal size, running towards them. Then of course, Sakura was on his back. He could not see any way of this ending well what with Sakura's injuries, and the explosion being so close.

Suddenly, a large shield dropped before them, straight through the buildings, blocking the explosion from their eyes.

They could still feel the heat through the shield and the sound was deafening, but they were safe. Lee wheeled around and saw a large magenta toad wielding an odd weapon.

"I apologize for my clumsiness" the toad said calmly to those in the alleyway.

Without warning it suddenly jumped straight up, avoiding a now visible snake that had tried to bite the toad.

With surprising grace, the toad twisted in the air, spinning his weapon so quickly, not even Lee could trace its movements, and brought it crashing on the snakes head.

The impact crushed the snake's head, causing it to explode in gore. Dust and wind battered at the Genin in the alleyway.

The toad landed softly on the corpse of the snake, whipping his weapon up.

"I shall now take my leave" the toad stated as it reached over them all and pulled the shield free from the buildings it had been embedded in.

It quickly secured the shield on his back and glanced side to side a few times before jumping away.

"….Wow…" Sakura stated.

"Yeah… Wow" Choji agreed.

* * *

Shino burst into a cloud of bugs as the wind jutsu tore through him.

Sasuke's fire jutsu was quickly overpowered by the wind jutsu.

'_Damn how is this happening? Fire element is supposed to be strong against wind!'_ Sasuke thought as he was sent flying back by the blast.

He skidded to a halt, his Sharingan scanning for where Temari had disappeared to.

'_If Naruto could beat her then so can I!'_ Sasuke thought fiercely.

He darted forward to where he had last seen the girl when Shino's voice called out.

"Behind you Sasuke!"

He dove to the side, narrowly escaping the invisible blades of wind that carved through the ground where he had just been.

'_Didn't know Shino could be so loud'_ was Sasuke's thought.

He jumped up and off the side of a building, as Shino appeared next to him.

"I can finish her off, but you need to keep her occupied." Sasuke said.

"What are you going to do?" Shino asked.

Sasuke smirked as they landed on a roof.

"A special technique Kakashi-sensei taught me. Was going to save it for Gaara, but this'll work."

"Very well. I shall keep her occupied while you get this jutsu ready. How long do you need?"

Sasuke smirked. "Just a few spare seconds… I don't have a lot of chakra from my matches, but it'll be enough."  
Shino nodded as he walked to the edge of the roof. "Be quick then."

He jumped from the edge and plummeted to the ground. Temari had spotted him quickly and sent a wind jutsu towards the falling boy.

Shino's bugs suddenly buzzed forwards from his sleeves and seemed to push the boy out of the way of the jutsu.

Shino landed safely and turned towards his opponent.

"I am surprised you have this much energy after fighting against Naruto."

Temari sneered at Shino. "I still have enough Chakra to deal with you two!"  
She swung her fan at Shino who darted into an alley, effectively dodging the wind jutsu.

'_That's getting annoying'_ Temari thought as she prepared her next jutsu.

She was surprised when suddenly, Shino appeared next to her, engaging her in Taijutsu. She dodged the first few hits, closing her fan quickly before using it to block a kunai from the boy.

She swung at him with the metal frame, missing and tearing through a wall.

'_That is surprising strength'_ Shino thought to himself.

She planted the fan in the ground, and using it as leverage, planted a kick on Shino's chest.

The boy suddenly exploded into bugs once more.

'_Ugh disgusting!'_ Temari thought as they swarmed her. She swung her fan back open, poured chakra into it, and blew the insects away from her.

She staggered to the side as she did this and nearly lost her balance.

'_Dammit, his bugs are stealing my chakra!'_ she realized.

She looked around for any sign of the boy when she heard an odd chirping noise from somewhere down the street.

"What the hell is that?" Temari asked herself.

Suddenly, she saw Sasuke Uchiha drop from a building, wielding what looked to be some kind of lightning jutsu.

She smirked. "I thought the Uchiha were supposed to be smart, but clearly you don't realize that wind beats lightning."

Sasuke smirked. "Time to beat the odds then."

Suddenly he shot forward, the lightning streaking behind him.

Temari grit her teeth as Sasuke rocketed towards her.

'_Dammit, just like that Uzumaki kid, he's fast!'_

She swung her fan, pouring her remaining chakra into her jutsu, intending on leveling not only the Uchiha, but the buildings in the immediate vicinity.

Suddenly, Sasuke shot down an alley.

She unleashed the jutsu, sure that he would still get caught in the blast.

As soon as she unleashed her technique, the buildings began to crumble, the street tearing apart, the howl of the wind the most prominent noise. She was sure she had won.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the flash of the blue lightning from Sasuke's technique.

She had no time to react as her eyes met with red eyes. She knew there was no time to block or dodge the technique.

Just as Sasuke was about to reach his target, a building nearby exploded with such force, Sasuke and Temari were thrown aside like leaves.

Sasuke was dazed as he flew through the air the only sound he could now hear was the ringing in his ears from being so close to the blast.

Then a wave of pain crashed over him.

He felt the ground rumble a bit as he realized he was staring at the sky.

The smoke from the burning buildings looked like oil against the blue sky as Sasuke struggled to move. Glancing down, he realized that a wall must have collapsed on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

Another wave of pain racked his body suddenly. He tried to free one of his arms, but it was nearly impossible to move.

'_This isn't good'_ Sasuke thought as he fought through the pain and continued to struggle for freedom.

Suddenly he heard something that sounded like footsteps.

'_Maybe that's Shino… Or an enemy.'_

Sasuke waited with bated breath when a shadow fell over his face from the figure that stood over him.

"…Still… alive… Uchiha?" a bleeding singed Temari taunted.

Her fan was missing and a large amount of her torso was left with a torn mesh undershirt.

If it was a different situation, Sasuke would have had the decency to blush.

'_Dammit, this can't be it!'_ His Sharingan activated from the stress of the situation and suddenly a new pain engulfed him.

Sasuke screamed out, his neck feeling as if it was on fire.

Then slowly, his system was flooded with chakra. Not his normal chakra however. This one felt much more potent then anything he had felt in his life.

He grinned as he locked eyes with Temari.

'_It's simple, but it'll do.'_

Temari's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment as she raised her kunai and positioned it beside her neck.

"To think that a simple Genjutsu would be what kills you" Sasuke murmured as with his newfound energy, he lifted the rubble off of himself.

He stood up as soon as it was clear and checked himself.

'_Feel like shit, but otherwise I'm alright.'_ He glanced over at the blonde girl who had remained still, her kunai pressed against her neck.

"…This power… It's useful." Sasuke muttered. He had tried before during his training with Kakashi to use a powerful Genjutsu using only his Sharingan but never with such success.

He walked over to her and looked her up and down. He shook his head as certain thoughts came to the forefront of his mind. '_This isn't like me, what am I thinking?'_

His hand shot towards his neck, where the source of this new power had come from.

'_This thing… It's doing more than giving me power.'_

He glanced at Temari and he once again thought of taking away her life. An internal struggle began to surface.

'_There have been so many deaths because of the sand and sound today; taking her life is just a form of repayment… Besides, Naruto has killed before, looks like it could be fun.'_

Suddenly, Itachi's face seemed to materialize in his mind. The night of the massacre, where everything he had known was taken from him.

"This is what Itachi would do…" Sasuke frowned. "…I am not that monster."

Then another face seemed to surface. A certain blonde grinning teammate. "Naruto… He's more of a brother than Itachi…" He grimaced as he felt the power of the curse seal ebb away, followed by a sharp pain in his neck that seemed to continue lingering.

Temari snapped out of the Genjutsu and dropped the kunai, surprised what she had been about to do.

She looked at the Uchiha who collapsed to the ground with a groan, clutching at his neck.

She took one step towards the boy and kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall to his back and stare up at the girl.

"I hate Genjutsu users" Temari growled as she placed her foot on Sasuke's throat.

Sasuke tried to cry out in pain, but couldn't as Temari applied more and more pressure.

The young boy began to claw at her leg as his heart began to pound.

Temari smirked at the boy as his limbs began to feel numb. His panic for air began to recede.

'…_So this is dying? …It's not terrible…'_ Sasuke thought as his vision began to darken.

Just as he began to accept what was happening, the pressure disappeared and Sasuke felt a warmth spread among his neck.

Then he sat up, coughing painfully.

"Careful!" a female voice rang out.

He glanced at the woman the voice belonged to and saw the nurse from the preliminary matches, her hands glowing green. He looked around for the blonde girl and saw her unconscious on the ground, Shino standing over her.

"It is good to see that you are okay" Shino said, not bothering to look at the Uchiha.

Sasuke tried to speak but found that he couldn't.

"I'm not done healing you yet" Kagome answered his unasked question.

Sasuke nodded as her glowing hands reached for his neck.

"It seems that there was a fight in the building that exploded between a few Sound Shinobi and two Konoha Chunin. From what information my bugs can gather, the Chunin were winning, so the Sound shinobi used some Kamikaze tags to take them all out."

Sasuke sat and listened while Kagome healed him.

"Aren't you Naruto's teammate?" She asked Sasuke. He nodded and glanced at the girl.

"Did he win his fights? I wasn't able to catch them." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. The Chunin Exams were televised and very few people would have missed them. On top of that, she was involved with the medical team charged with healing the contestants. Or so he had assumed.

Slowly he nodded, indicating that Naruto had indeed won his matches… For the most part.

Kagome smiled. "I'm glad. He's an interesting boy."

Sasuke chuckled at this, or at least tried to. It ended up sounding more like a cough than anything.

That's when he heard some familiar voices approaching them.

Sasuke quickly stood up, withdrawing a kunai.

"It is fine Sasuke… They are not imposters." Shino said as Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Rock Lee, and Sakura rounded the corner.

Sasuke relaxed at this. If Shino said they were really their allies, he wasn't going to doubt him.

Shikamaru caught sight of them first. He lightly jogged over, the others trailing behind him as they saw Sasuke and Shino as well.

"Have any of you seen Naruto?" Sasuke croaked.

Choji gave Sasuke an odd look. "You sound like Asuma-sensei in twenty years."

Shikamaru chuckled at the joke, but no one else did.

"No we haven't" Shikamaru answered. "Just some enemies, and a giant toad."

Sasuke gave Shikamaru an odd look, but he did not explain further.

"I have located him" Shino said suddenly.

"Where?" Sasuke asked as he massaged his throat.

"He is currently stationary with a dozen ANBU and another man who seems to be of some significance."

Sasuke nodded. "Then I'll go get him, I'll need you to come with me Shino in case he starts moving again."

Shino nodded when Ino piped in.

"What about us? We were asked to find him as well" she said, placing her hand on her hip.

Sasuke looked back at the girl and then to Sakura. He gave her a slight nod, causing the pink haired girl to blush lightly.

"Protect Lee and Sakura. Get them to the shelter." Before continuing he glanced at Kagome.

"Take her as well. As far as I can tell, she isn't a Shinobi" he stated.

The group looked at the woman chuckled. "I'm not a Shinobi, but I was ordered by the medical corps to help with healing the injured that are fighting."

Sasuke nodded. "Then you'll need someone to make sure you're safe. The medic is the most important part of a squad. Choji, Ino can you accompany her?"

Shikamaru grinned. "Good call Sasuke. Keeping me with Lee and Sakura means that if we get ambushed, I can hold them with my Kagemane no Jutsu while Lee can hide Sakura before engaging in combat, same goes with Ino and Choji."

Sasuke nodded. "Let's get going. Gaara may be the key to the whole war, so let's get Naruto to kick his ass."

* * *

Naruto was surprised as his opponent dropped to the ground dead.

He and Kakashi's clone had been ambushed by a squad of sand ninja and had successfully killed the clone, leaving Naruto to deal with them alone.

He had been doing surprisingly well, using as little chakra as possible to conserve for the sealing jutsu he was sure he was going to use soon. But as soon as he had killed two of them, he knew he was going to need more than just Taijutsu. As he had begun to curse his luck, a squad of ANBU had appeared and taken care of them. But they were unlike ANBU he had encountered before, which made him wary.

He was now surrounded by several Shinobi that had just proved they were stronger than Naruto and he was worried. None of them had said a single word to him and had not put their weapons away. He had a kunai in hand and was ready to call on the Kyubi's aid when a familiar voice echoed through the street.

"Naruto Namikaze… You may put that away."  
Two ANBU parted and revealed the man that Naruto had met atop the Hokage Monument.

"Danzo right?" Naruto asked.

Danzo stopped before him and stared at the blonde boy.

"You have gotten stronger" it wasn't a question.

Naruto still felt uneasy and wasn't sure he wanted to put the kunai away.

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Despite your progress you are still no match for me."  
Naruto knew this, but it still felt good to hold a weapon.

"What do you want? I'm kind of busy!" Naruto snapped.

Danzo smirked. "Right to the point, I like that. I assume you are intending on taking care of the Jinchuriki."

Naruto felt a pang of anger at the word. "Not the way I'd phrase it but yes, I'm headed towards Gaara's position."  
Danzo nodded. "It would make sense to send our own Jinchuriki to fight theirs. There are very few who could contend with the power of a Biju, especially if it were to be unsealed."

Naruto said nothing as an explosion echoed from at least two miles away from their position.

"Why aren't you out their helping?" Naruto asked.

"That is not what you wanted to originally know. You are quick to forget you're original question young Namikaze. The reason I am here talking to you."

Naruto glared. '_It's not like you're forthcoming with that information anyways.'_

"I have come with information about Orochimaru. He is in the village."

Naruto felt his chakra flare at the mention of the bastard's name.

"Where?!" Naruto roared.

"He is at the stadium. He has trapped the Hokage in a barrier jutsu of some kind. He intends on killing him."  
Naruto's jaw clenched.

"Why challenge the Hokage? That's a stupid decision!"

Danzo nodded. "Normally I would agree, but Orochimaru was taught by Hiruzen. He knows many of the Hokage's techniques and he is not a rash man. If Orochimaru is challenging the Hokage, he is sure of his victory."  
Naruto took a deep breath, processing this information. "Where's Jiraiya?"

"Jiraiya is unable to get to the Hokage because of the barrier jutsu and even then victory is not guaranteed. From what I have gathered, Orochimaru has a trump card that would destroy us all."

Naruto was about to ask if it was Gaara but Danzo quickly cut him off.

"It is not the Jinchuriki. However, Gaara is Sunagakure's key to winning the war, Orochimaru's trump card is much worse. My information states that he has a technique to raise the dead with."  
Naruto said nothing for a moment as he thought of what that could mean.

"Naruto, he could raise anyone from the dead… Even the previous Hokage."

Naruto's eyes widened. "But, there's no way the old man could take on the other Hokage!"  
Danzo nodded. "Hashirama Senju was considered a god amongst shinobi. Unique amongst even our Kage. If he were to be summoned, that would mean the end of Sarutobi."  
Naruto bit his lip at the thought of the old man dying. "What do you expect me to be able to do? If Jiraiya can't beat him…"

"It is possible that we could win if we were to take down that barrier. I am not saying you are able to fight on even ground with Orochimaru, you would just be in the way. However, I think you could take the barrier down."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How? I've never dealt with a barrier jutsu!"

"I believe that if you used the Kyubi's chakra in conjuncture with your Rasengan, you could destroy the barrier. The Rasengan is pure shape manipulation of the chakra, but with the Kyubi's chakra, it would be much more potent."

Naruto's fist clenched. "…But I need to take care of Gaara."

Danzo nodded. "Indeed. You may be the only one available that can defeat him if he unleashes the Ichibi in full. However, even then victory is not guaranteed. You need to choose which path to take. You can go after Gaara and seal the Biju away, at the cost of Sarutobi's life. Or you can go to the stadium and destroy the barrier that separates our forces from Orochimaru. However that would allow Gaara to roam free, killing civilians, Shinobi… You're sensei even."  
Naruto looked around at the ANBU surrounding him.

'_What do I do? This seems like an impossible situation!'_

He then glanced up at the monument. '_What would you do dad?'_

'_I can't use my clones for the sealing jutsu, and I don't know of a way to access the Kyubi's chakra through a clone.'_

"Whichever decision you choose, my associates here shall escort you there."

Naruto took a breath, weighing each decision. He looked at Danzo before speaking one last time. Either way, he was going to have something to regret, but he had to choose between the two, and he had made his decision.

* * *

_**And there it is. Danzo is going to be making some more appearances in the coming chapters. I always felt that he should have been introduced much earlier on in the series but oh well.**_

_**So now you know the technique that Naruto has in store for Gaara if he needs to use it. But will he go after Gaara, or Orochimaru?! **_

_**And yes I do know that in Shippuden, the Naruto clones have used the Kyubi's chakra. But Naruto at this point isn't aware that it's possible, he's still young and inexperienced with certain things. Plus he's used the foxes chakra two or three times only. Not a lot of usage.**_

_**Sorry about not putting a lot of the Hokage fight, but I'd end up just writing what happened in Canon at this point of the battle so it's nothing we don't already know about.**_

_**Now the next chapter won't take as long as this one so keep an eye in the coming weeks, however after the next chapter I am going to spend a week going through the previous chapters and fixing grammatical errors as well as a continuity issue or two.**_

_**Once again I do want to thank everyone who is reading this fanfiction, it makes my day when I see a glowing review, or a message about how someone is enjoying the fanfiction… Then again who doesn't. I will continue bringing as much awesome story as I can for as long as I can.**_

_**Thank you everyone!**_


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